Former Southwest pilot sentenced after pleading guilty to lewd incident during flight

Former Southwest pilot Michael Haak, 60, was sentenced to one year of probation last week after pleading guilty to committing a lewd, indecent, or obscene act during a flight he was piloting last summer, according to a news release from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. As part of a plea agreement, Haak, who was captain of a Southwest plane flying from Philadelphia to Orlando on August 10, 2020, admitted that once the airplane reached cruising altitude, he got out of the pilot's seat, undressed and "viewed pornographic media on a laptop computer," while still in the cockpit. During this time Haak also "engaged in inappropriate conduct" while a female First Officer, whom he had never met before the flight, continued her flight duties, according to the release. Haak was prosecuted in Maryland because the plane on which the incident occurred flew over parts of the District of Maryland and other federal districts. On Friday US Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson also ordered Haak to pay a fine of $5,000, the release said. Federal prosecutors agreed that Haak will not need to register as a sex offender for his misdemeanor offense, a court memorandum filed on Tuesday reads.<br/>