Kentucky Justice Association Awards Consumer Safety Award to Comair Pilot
The Kentucky Justice Association recently awarded its annual Consumer Safety Award to Captain Shane Sitts, a Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati-based airline pilot. Sitts was given the award for his integrity and bravery in standing up to his corporate employer, Comair, for refusing to fly an airplane that he believed to be unsafe and unfit for flight.
Not just once, but twice, Sitts refused to fly unsafe airplanes due to faulty mechanisms in the main cabin door assist system of planes he was asked to fly. Sitts informed Comair of the condition and tried to get the company to make the condition safe for passenger travel. Unfortunately, the airline refused to listen and ordered him to fly the planes anyway. Captain Sitts bravely refused. Unbelievably, he was fired for trying to protect the very passengers whose lives he was entrusted with.
After being unjustly fired, Sitts took the airline to court in what is known as a “whistleblower” suit: being fired for reporting companies for violations of the law. He risked his own professional career to stand up for what was right and to protect the rest of us. Fortunately, the judge and jury in his trial recognized that he was right and found that he had acted appropriately.
The Kentucky Justice Association is Kentucky’s largest organization of lawyers dedicated to seeking justice for citizens of the commonwealth through the court system and trial advocacy. All attorneys at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC are members of KJA and four of us serve on the organization’s Board of Governors. We are also experienced whistleblower attorneys who are ready to help you if you have been brave enough to stand up for safety and integrity and have been punished or silenced for your efforts.
