OSHA Awards Over $2 Million to Airline Pilot Fired for Reporting Safety Concerns
OSHA ordered Asia Pacific Airlines to pay over $2 million after retaliating against a pilot who raised safety concerns.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Dec 19, 2024
OSHA has ordered Asia Pacific Airlines—a Guam-based airline operated by Aero Micronesia Inc.—to pay more than $2 million in wages, damages and legal fees to a cargo pilot wrongfully fired for raising safety concerns about an aircraft’s faulty engine.
According to a recent release, the pilot refused to fly a cargo plane they believed had an unreliable engine. OSHA inspectors said the airline retaliated by reprimanding, suspending and eventually terminating the pilot for exercising their federally protected right to report safety issues.
The agency concluded that the pilot repeatedly flagged concerns about the maintenance team’s failure to properly diagnose the engine problem. A separate investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the pilot’s assessment, finding that Asia Pacific Airlines used incorrect troubleshooting procedures that prevented proper identification and resolution of the issue.
Despite these findings, Ralph Freeman, the airline’s then-chief pilot and director of operations, maintained that the disciplinary action was justified. OSHA ultimately concluded that the pilot’s termination was a direct result of reporting safety concerns.
“Asia Pacific Airlines has shown an unacceptable and potentially catastrophic disregard for safety and shamefully viewed pilots’ safety concerns as employee conflicts,” OSHA Assistant Regional Administrator Ryan Himes in Seattle said in a statement. “The outcome of this investigation should remind all employees that they are legally protected and can raise safety concerns without fear of retaliation by their employer.”
OSHA ordered the airline to pay $419,267 in back pay plus interest, eight years of future salary, $27,596 in loan interest, $75,000 for emotional damages and attorney fees. The agency also mandated that the pilot’s employment record be cleared and that Asia Pacific Airlines provide training to employees on whistleblower protections.
An administrative law judge ruled in 2019 that Asia Pacific Airlines had violated the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, which provides whistleblower protection. The company again illegally terminated a pilot for raising safety concerns. Since 2014, similar complaints were filed by the airline’s pilots.
Asia Pacific Airlines now has the option to appeal the decision before the Office of Administrative Law Judges.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.