Southeast Airlines alleges that the recording was illegal. The pilot in question won an earlier suit against his former employer.
By JEAN HELLER
Published September 9, 2004
CLEARWATER - Southeast Airlines has sued a former pilot who secretly recorded an angry exchange with his boss and used the recording later in a legal action against the company.
In a suit filed Sept. 3 in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, Southeast said the pilot, Richard Hirst, illegally taped a conversation on Sept. 29, 2002, between himself and Steve Malone.
Malone was then director of operations for the charter airline, which is based at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
Their argument was over Malone's order to Hirst to fly a DC-9 aircraft weighing 108,000 pounds from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, N.J. Hirst contended his flight manual said the DC-9 was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly at no more than 105,000 pounds.
According to the tape transcript, Hirst told Malone he had seen no documentation making the higher weight legal. Malone assured Hirst that the documentation existed.
When Hirst asked to see it, Malone shouted, "I can't get you a copy of that. It's none of your g--d--- business."
As captain of the flight, Hirst was legally responsible for the safety of the plane and those on board. After discussing the situation with Southeast's safety officer, Hirst refused to fly. He testified that he was fired the next day.
Hirst sued Southeast under a federal whistle-blower statute. He said he was fired because he reported the confrontation with Malone to Southeast's safety officer and to the FAA.
Hirst won the case, which Southeast has appealed. Southeast attorneys say the company did not fire Hirst, although Malone told him several times that he was "off the payroll."
Southeast contends the recording was made illegally because Malone did not know about it and did not give his permission to have the conversation taped.
Florida statutes generally preclude recording without the consent of all parties to a conversation. But there are exceptions, such as a statement made in an open meeting. For the prohibition to apply, the person being taped must have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Hirst, reached Wednesday by telephone, said he did not know about Southeast's suit against him and declined to comment. His attorney, Gary Evans, was out of the country and said in an e-mail that he, too, was unaware of the suit.
Southeast's attorney in the case, Robert Eckard of Palm Harbor, said he could comment only if airline officials approved. They had not responded at the end of the day. Southeast is seeking damages of at least $15,000.
Hirst is at the center of a number of labor-related actions brought by former Southeast pilots against the company.
In Hirst's action in Texas and in another in Tampa, testimony from several former Southeast pilots alleged that the airline sometimes chose its schedule over safety.
While the airline insists it is safe, pilots alleged safety infractions, operational shortcuts, sloppy training practices and strong-arm pressure by airline officials trying to stay under the FAA's regulatory radar.
Southeast prevailed in the second case, in Tampa, brought by a former senior first officer with the 5-year-old airline.
