A flight attendant based out of Phoenix has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, alleging she witnessed two pilots livestreaming video from the plane's bathroom to an iPad in the cockpit and saying she was retaliated against when she brought the concerns to light, according to the Arizona Republic.
Renee Steinaker filed the suit in federal court for the District of Arizona and claims the alleged incident occurred on Flight 1088 between Pittsburgh and Phoenix on Feb. 27, 2017.
The Arizona Republic reports that several hours into the flight, Steinaker was asked to come to the cockpit so the pilot could use the restroom. Southwest's policy requires two crew members in the cockpit at all times. Steinaker claims in the lawsuit that as she entered the cockpit, she saw an iPad mounted on the windshield with a livestream showing the pilot in the bathroom.
The pilot allegedly told Steinaker that it was a new, top-secret security measure installed in all Southwest Airlines planes.
As claimed in the suit, she reported the incident to Southwest and was told to not talk to anybody about the alleged incident. She said retaliation included increased performance audits and being overseen by managers in a threatening manner.
Southwest sent a statement to the Arizona Republic, saying in part:
"The safety and security of our employees and customers is Southwest's uncompromising priority. As such, Southwest does not place cameras in the lavatories of our aircraft. At this time, we have no other comment on the pending litigation."
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