In the #Me Too era, yet another serious claim of past sexual assault surfaces in the news.
Alaska Airlines female co-pilot claims male pilot drugged and raped her
By Janine Puhak | Fox News
A Seattle-based pilot employed by Alaska Airlines has filed a lawsuit against the airline, claiming that her male aircraft captain drugged and raped her during a June 2017 work trip.
Betty Pina, a former military helicopter pilot who flew combat missions in Afghanistan, told KIRO 7 that during an overnight stay in Minneapolis, the pilot spiked her wine with an unknown substance and she woke up in his bedroom.
Pina said her attacker is still a pilot for Alaska Airlines and that she wants him fired.
Alaska Airlines female co-pilot claims male pilot drugged and raped her | Fox News
Co-pilot sues Alaska Airlines, says pilot drugged and raped her
by KOMO StaffWednesday, March 14th 2018
SEATTLE - A co-pilot for Alaska Airlines is suing the company, saying it failed to take appropriate action after she reported she had been drugged and raped by an Alaska Airlines pilot during a layover last year.
The co-pilot, Betty Pina, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in King County Superior Court under Washington state's anti-discrimination statute.
The suit says that she was taken off active flight crew duties for an extended period after she reported the rape, but to the best of her knowledge the pilot was never removed from duty and is still employed by the company, where he "remains a threat to other employees."
According to the lawsuit, Pina was serving as a co-pilot with the pilot in question for the first time last June. During a layover in Minneapolis, she says she blacked out after the pilot gave her wine at a hotel lounge.
When she woke up, hours later, she was naked from the waist down in bed in the pilot's hotel room with him, and there was vomit on the blankets, the lawsuit says. She suit says she remained nauseous and in pain for hours afterward and realized that she had been drugged.
When she confronted the pilot, he denied any sexual contact.
After Pina reported the rape to Alaska Airlines, she was taken off active flight crew duties for several months and was only recently returned to full duty, according to the lawsuit. The pilot remained on full duty with the airline and was never charged with any crime.
Co-pilot sues Alaska Airlines, says pilot drugged and raped her | KOMO