You’re Invited to the Hearing of Captain Cynthia Clifford v. United Airlines
Where: U.S. Flight Standards Office 26805 E 68th Ave, Denver, CO 80249
When: 19-21 May, 2026
Time: 9am to 5pm daily
Coach In the Captain’s Seat
In April of 2024, Captain Cynthia Clifford was flying a charter flight for the Rockies team. While she went to the restroom, a Coach sat in her seat and sent out a video on his Social Media of which went viral.
Captain Clifford learned what happened upon her return to the flight deck, and brought her concerns forward in an FSAP, United’s Flight Safety Action Program. The three member Event Review Committee (ERC) accepted her report, and that should have been it. Instead the FAA got involved in their process by replacing the FAA member on the committee, with one who would vote differently, so they could bastardize the standard safety process and exclude Clifford’s FSAP from the program.
The rationale for exclusion was her FSAP did not qualify because the coach had a drink earlier. However the historical interpretation of the “no drinking rule and FSAP exclusion” only applies if the reporting pilot was using alcohol. Of course, if you drink and fly you should not get out of jail free just because you file an FSAP. However when you file an FSAP because you learned that a regulatory violation occurred while you were using the restroom, that should be another story.
Allegedly CEO Scott Kirby used Clifford as a scapegoat to cover up United’s systemic charter program safety issues that, for years, company managers have been bringing forward to United’s safety program manager, Sasha Johnson.
The United ALPA Master Executive Chair, Captain Anne Worster, provided deposition testimony as to the steps she took to try to protect Captain Clifford’s job and the integrity of the voluntary safety reporting program. She went all the way to the CEO Scott Kirby, to no avail.
While this incident of a Coach in the Cockpit occurred while Clifford was in the restroom, the first officer, charter flight coordinator attendant. and all flight attendants onboard were aware of what was happening. The first officer also filed an FSAP and he was terminated as well.
While the first officer had the responsibility to keep him out of the seat, his termination was more than likely forthcoming. Sadly, ALPA attorneys convinced (pressured) the FO to write that he willfully violated FARs in exchange for a promise that he could keep his job and get less of a discipline from the FAA if he did it. His first ALPA rep warned him against doing this. Then the lead ALPA attorney and head of the ALPA safety committee worked together to replace his rep as fast as they could, without telling the rep what was ongoing. The damage was done. ALPA legal sold him down the river in the worst way.
The Coach
Isn’t it illegal for anyone to enter the flight deck? Did United cancel their contract with the Rockies? Did they file charges against the coach? Did the FAA file charges? Would the reasonable person go sit in another’s car just because the door was open? What made him think he could do that? As far as I can determine he apologized and no actions were taken.
The Legal Process
AIR21 Trials are open to the public. Honorable Scott Morris will be presiding. He welcomes the public because these are issues that impact safety. If you’re in the Denver area or want to jump seat it, this trial will be interesting to watch.
The question is whether Kirby terminated this Captain for flagging a safety concern on charters by filing an FSAP, or if she was terminated because United was in the midst of an FAA evaluation and the event became newsworthy. United did pass its evaluation one week after Kirby terminated Clifford.
With respect to these airline sports charters, they are big money. Every passenger is a first class passenger and they get what they want. This leaving the door open is an unwritten policy, and has been ongoing for years at most airlines. The understanding is, “they own the plane.” I have been on those charters and the coaches have often visited the flight deck. The coach even testified he had sat up there on many airlines and door was almost always open on charters. But sitting in a pilot’s seat is a huge line to have crossed. Clifford’s initial concern with this process of the door being left open escalated when she learned the coach was in her seat, while she was out of the flight. She had to do something. She wrote a safety report. For that she got fired.
Captain Clifford is now fighting for the sanctity of filing a flight safety reports without retaliation. These reports are supposed to solve problems, not to kill the messenger.
16 Comments
If you kill the Messenger, you could/will loose a great program. One must decide if killing a Messenger outweighs the benefit of knowing what is happening on the line and having the capability to solve problems you had no idea were happening.
David, this is so truth. The ASAP program was designed to assert what we did wrong in a safe space to ensure we have a fix. Sadly, the events are at an all time high, without a fix. But never were these programs used to remove people.
The United captain is responsible for the safety of the flight even when she goes to the bathroom. She got fired for neglecting this most
Important duty and not making the rules clear. She doesn’t get a do over because she files an ASAP.
Where was the flight attendant that is supposed to come into the cockpit when any pilot leaves? That was also the UAL captain responsibility.
Why wasn’t the charter coordinator fired?
Sorry the UAL captain got fired for forgetting to be a captain.
Retired 35 year major airline captain who flew sport charters.
That’s a good question as to why the charter coordinator wasn’t fired. I too flew sports charters.
What does United’s manuals say about leaving the door open on these charter flights? I am pretty sure these charter flights are operated under the same 121 rules as regular pax flights. That means door closed and standard cockpit door opening procedure applied.
If she went to the bathroom, the FO was in charge. There should be at all time 2 people in the cockpit. So in this case, the FO and a FA. Why did the FO and FA let the coach into the cockpit because it says “When she returned and learned what had happened….”
That means that she never sanctioned the coach to enter the cockpit, it was the FO and FA who allowed him to enter.
Those are great questions. But often the unwritten rules become so inherent in a culture that they become law.
What I do know is that we began locking doors because of terrorists. And, before 911 we let passengers in the flight deck. And, when a team charters the flight, they do believe they own the plane. And… the risk of anyone on that sports charter (who make more than the pilots) are more than likely not an issue (no hidden terrorists in this group). But with all that said, rules are rules. However, the rationale of why they avoid the rules is legitimate. All these questions you ask will come out in trial.
However, I did receive an email from a United pilot who said, “Re United ferry policy, Since this happened , a significant rewrite of policy was introduced to the manuals.” Now… if it wasn’t implied or condoned in some fashion in the old United manuals, why was there a “significant” rewrite?
https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_120-66C_(Edit).pdf
Has there been an update to the trial?
Yes, It’s over, and I’ll be posting soon.
Thank you..Anxiously awaiting
By tomorrow for sure!
Looking forward to it and hopefully the outcome was good
It takes a year for a ruling, but from what I see… United probably won’t win this. At least by the letter of the law.
It’s posted! https://karlenepetitt.com/air21-trial-and-the-cockpit-coach/
I was hired as a United pilot in 1969. As a flight engineer in my first 9 years of employment I flew may sports charters both on the 727 and later on the DC 8. I can honestly say that the cockpit door was always left opened and the Captain usually made a welcome announcement to come into our world (the cockpit) and say hello. In fact I remember one flight landing in LAX George Allen the LAX Rams head coach was sitting in the jump seat behind the Captain talking foot ball with one of his lineman during the landing. If the F/O allowed the Coach to sit in the Captain’s seat while the Captain was in the Blue Room then that is on him, the F/O, as at the time he did so he was in Command. A question, are Airlines operating on Part 121 or part 91 when conducting charters?.
Ron, That is a good question on the part. When I was asked that, I said, “I don’t know.” But I believe they are 121. Thanks for the update. The coach said for 22 years he’s been in the cockpit of United, American and Delta. Yes, this is standard practice. I’ll be posting the summation of the trial shortly. But turns out the POI knew this was ongoing, as she had been on such a flight, and United was in the process of terminating a Captain because she refused to leave the door open when this happened. More to come. Thanks for your comment!