Cyberstalking, using technology such as the internet, social media, apps, etc., to repeatedly harass, monitor, and intimidate someone, causing fear or distress, often involving unwanted contact. I believe Delta is doing this to me, because I filed another AIR21 lawsuit and there is no other reason for their actions.
Overview:
While employed at Delta I witnessed management violating federal violations, engaging in substandard pilot training, and unsafe operating practices. In 2014 I returned to ERAU to earn a PhD in Aviation Safety and provided an internal safety report to senior executives. Delta then paid a doctor $74,000 for a false medical diagnosis to permanently eradicate me from the industry. I took them to court under the AIR21 statute. Delta responded by engaging in a war of attrition, instead of fixing the problems, that lasted 7 years. Delta lost in 2020, then they lost their appeal in 2022. However, Delta did not change their unsafe practices and the FAA looked the other way. Thus, I retired in 2023 to not be silenced by the Delta social media policy.
One of the executives I gave the safety report to, VP Captain James Graham, who instigated the attack, was then promoted to SVP of Delta flight operations, and despite perjuring himself in court, over and over again, Delta promoted him to the CEO of Endeavor, Delta’s wholly owned subsidiary.
The Endeavor Crash
February 17, 2025 Endeavor crashed with Graham in charge of the company. I told him this would happen with substandard training. The pilots walked away from the crash, the company has the cockpit voice recorder, yet there is no final report. This accident has found it’s way into the hole of accidents that are buried by airlines to hide from accountability only to be repeated again.
Delta’s Threat and My Response
I wrote about the crash, as did every other aviation blogger, YouTuber, and reporter. But Delta decided to threaten only me with a lawsuit. Therefore, I filed another AIR21 complaint against Delta, because the law says it’s illegal to “threaten” or “blacklist” former employees who have previously filed a complaint. I filed another AIR21 complaint. The first time OSHA took a year before I even met with the investigator who ultimately ruled in Delta’s favor. My trial showed with a preponderance of evidence the investigator either didn’t know what he was doing, or he was in Delta’s pocket. This time it was only days for OSHA to shut me down. They even shifted rationale as to why, after I proved them wrong on their first reason. There was no investigation. Therefore I appealed.
If you’re interested in the elements of Delta’s threat, read Delta’s Effort to Silence Me. On April 11, 2025 I filed another AIR21 Complaint. Yet, we do not have a judge. Typically a judge is assigned in a couple months; therefore, this is quite unusual.
Delta’s Current Threats
Delta has selectively placed marketing on two significant blog posts for no point other than to threaten and harass me. They want me to know they are there and can do whatever they want.
A little backstory. One of the issues that arose in the case was my Flight to Success Be the Captain of Your Life motivation book. Delta paid Dr. Altman to read it and find mental health issues from the stories twenty to thirty years prior. Dr. Altman is an aviation incompetent, so his opinion on the events was laughable. However, Delta made it an issue because I had asked if they wanted to put their plane on the cover. They said no. But marketing wanted it and OC Miller in Flight Operations became angered that I went around his back. I didn’t… another pilot had told marketing about it. Regardless, this book became an issue despite my never posting Delta’s colors on the cover.
Shortly thereafter, I donated a case of these books to the breast cancer awareness drive with 100% of the sales as a donation. I was first told I could not give them the books. I argued. Then they said I could, but I was not be allowed in the backroom store, out of public view, in uniform to autograph and promote sales. These guys were just being ugly and harming the donation process.
Second, the AIR21 statute is called the Whistleblower statute and what I beat them at the first time, and the same statute we are arguing now.
Third, Delta management knew of Dr. Altman’s bipolar diagnosis in October of 2016, as he not only requested a Delta Chief Pilot to edit my medical report, but Dr. Altman told the company I was bipolar during that October 2016 date.
However, Dr. Altman advised me of the diagnosis on Christmas Eve, 2016. During trial Judge Scott R. Morris remarked on the “cruelty” of delivering the false diagnosis on Christmas Eve “wherein she was summarily notified that her flying career was potentially over.”
Harassment:
Christmas Eve 2025, on the anniversary Delta’s and Dr. Altman’s notification that my aviation career was over, Delta posts a marketing add in the comment section to a Delta Whistleblower case I had written about: Whistleblowers at Delta Cannot Be Silenced
Christmas Eve 2025, minutes from the first comment, Delta posts another Delta marketing add on a “13-year-old” post on the Breast Cancer Awareness event.
December 29, 2025, My attorney, Lee Seham, wrote to Delta’s attorney Lincoln Bisbee, and notified him of our concerns about this behavior and advises him we were going to file a motion to expedite the assignment of a judge. Bisbee then alleged he doesn’t know who the attorney is working on this case … beside it’s the holidays. Wait… it’s “Bisbee’s case” and airlines run 24/7.
Then on January 2, 2026, Delta gives “me” their answer to my concern, after Lee notified Delta, with another marketing post on the exact same Whistleblowers at Delta Cannot Be Silenced post.
Marketing or Cyber Stalking?
Granted AI is used to market many companies But, AI is trained with guidelines to market effectively. Marketing viagra on a children’s book website wouldn’t be effective and not done. Therefore, how effective is marketing your airline on a post where a judge announced that Delta took an Adverse Action against a mechanic for reporting safety. Next, where is the marketing power in a 13-year-old post about breast cancer awareness, when it’s Christmas Eve, not even October the month we honor the cause.
Furthermore, I have dozens of posts on the Flight To Success blog about the incredible countries I flew to and the cities I toured. With photos and write-ups I visited Athens, Paris, Tokyo, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, Guyana, New York, Ghana…and more. I have posts that could be construed as potential marketing posts that Delta’s AI marketing could use if that was their intent…. but they did not.
Delta Sent the message. I responded.
We Want a Judge!
Nobody could believe Delta did what they did until we proved it in a court of law, and this may be hard to believe, too. However, Jason Zawislak, Delta’s manager of flight operations followed me on Twitter. He only followed a handful of people and I was one of them. He let me know he was there by placing a heart on a post about a suicide. Not only was that inappropriate, but creepy.
What do you think? Is this an ironic coincidence or are they messing with me? If Delta’s AI is programmed to harass and market on the worst possible locations… then God forbid they ever use it to operate an aircraft.
6 Comments
Why is Delta messing with Karlene Pettit? They just draw greater attention to her (which I LOVE) after she obliterated them in her winning court case against the airline. Its retaliation for reporting a safety problem, including violations of FARs by management was proven in court in an AIR21 suit on which she based her book Delta’s Debacle which is a blue print for how employees can fight back when they are retaliated against. It is the single most important read for any airline employee.
But this petty stuff just shows Delta holds a grudge and is not willing to let their war against Karlene go. As the article says — whistleblowers can’t be silenced — are diabolicly designed for maximum disruption and shows how small, insecure and petty Delta is. But on the upside, Delta is digging it’s own hole deeper and deeper by giving her such opportunities to fire back. Guess they were absent during the lesson once burned, twice learned.
Thank you Kathryn! Petty is the perfect word. Ironically, I was initially trying to give them the benefit of a doubt that they might have dysfunctional AI advertising, but to post the same marketing on the same Whistleblower post after we notified them was just another message. Ironically, that case is also my attorney, Lee Seham’s client. They do appear to be holding a grudge. I get it. They lost on all fronts. The reality is, people think a prestigious airline would not stoop so low. But it’s simply people who do the bad deeds and make their company pay the price. When the CEO/Chairman of the board is part of the problem, then it’s difficult to fix.
Cyberstalking is by definition murky, meant to throw us off, make us question our reality and wonder what’s real. To feel pursued, harassed and gaslighted. As someone who has been hounded by an obsessive cyberstalker for over 4 years, your situation makes me question whether you’re being targeted in other ways besides through transparent legal means. This odd placement of Delta embedded within your personal blog is certainly suspicious and needs to be further investigated. Even though, as you say, usually these ads are automated and put wherever AI thinks Delta’s potential customers will see them, it doesn’t seem a very smart place to put them if it wasn’t a deliberate attempt to intimidate.
After all, following you on Twitter is brazen and meant to intimidate. Totally inappropriate.
Jane, Thank you for the comment. I tried to give them the benefit of a doubt, but I believe this was no accident. Game playing on the surface, what else have they done? I know they paid an industry expert to disparage me. During his deposition he back pedaled and said, “They didn’t give me all the information.”Just enough to harm and blacklist me. I’m so sorry this has been ongoing with you. It’s not fun. AI is not dumb… It does what we train it to do. Someone trained it to mess with me. Ironically, since we filed a motion with the judge, the messages have stopped. Stand strong!
After all this time, years and years, Delta still cannot admit you were right? That they are lying? What is it with big companies and their ego-grudges? Just do the right thing! Say you’re sorry. Fix your problems. Didn’t we learn this in kindergarten?
Instead they use their law firms and deep pockets and spend millions of dollars covering up their mistakes. Who pays a doctor to create a false diagnosis instead of saying “Thank you for your safety report. We will read it. We are Delta and we are always trying to do better and fly higher?”
It’s hard for me to understand why they continue down this path. What’s the payoff?
I think the payoff is just that. More money. More power. Human life be damned. The most interesting thing about the first case, despite Delta losing and losing again, nobody (FAA) ever made them fix the problems. But then Delta has been know to place the FAA administrators on their board with a high pay off after the favors are done. And people like Tom get to feel important because they have breakfast meetings with people like Jim Graham. I shake my head. I was hoping this would go through so we could depose the pilots, but Delta might give me another chance at that. We’ll see. Now we have to deal with ALPA.