An Alaska Airlines pilot who is suing her employer says she believes that what happened to her is an industry-wide issue that is often ‘swept under the rug.’
Betty Pina, an Alaska Airlines first officer and former military pilot claims that she was drugged and raped by her co-pilot during a layover last June.
‘I believe that this is an under-reported, swept-under-the-rug, not-dealt-with issue in our industry,’ Pina told ABC News. ‘It’s not just our airline.’
Pina alleges that she was drugged and raped by her captain whom she named as 50-year-old Paul Engelien.
Alaska Airlines pilot Betty Pina, 39, (left) has claimed she was drugged and raped by flight captain Paul Engelien, 50, (right) during an overnight stay in June 2017
Pina’s lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, claims Alaska Airlines is liable for the alleged rape, as well as how it handled the situation after Engelien was reported to company officials
Pina said she filed her lawsuit to protect other women in the hope of slowly changing the culture instead of it being ‘swept under the rug’
The assault happened during a three-day assignment in June of last year at a hotel room during a layover they had in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She said she decided to take action in hopes of protecting other women.
‘How many other victims are out there? I may not be the first case, but I hope to be the last,’ she said.
‘It’s time to take responsibility. The culture needs to change. We can’t sweep this under the rug any longer.’
Pina and the captain were staying at the designated hotel during an overnight stay and Engelien invited her to have drinks in the concierge room with the crew
‘I trusted my captain,’ Pina said. ‘We had a lot in common. He was military and he has foster kids and I was a foster kid and so I didn’t see any threats.’
In the lawsuit Pina, a decorated Army helicopter pilot with 17 years of aviation experience, alleges Engelien invited her for drinks at the hotel in between flights.
Engelien, who is married, was the senior pilot for the flight, which began on June 4 and ended June 6. Pina was the first officer.
She said Engelien made her feel comfortable with a lot of ‘military speak’ and invited her to go on a hike and asked if she would speak to his friend’s daughter about becoming a pilot.
Pina, a decorated military helicopter pilot with 17 years of aviation experience, was the captain’s co-pilot for a flight from Anchorage to Seattle to Minneapolis last June
During a layover in Minneapolis on June 5, Pina said Engelien invited her to the concierge room in their hotel where some of the crew would be hanging out, eating pizza and drinking wine.
According to the lawsuit, Engelien gave Pina her first glass of wine ‘without any problems’.
Things then became uncomfortable after she claims the captain brought her a second glass of wine.
After taking just two sips, she began ‘having a hard time keeping her head up and things appeared to be closing in’.
‘From there, I don’t remember leaving the concierge room, the elevator ride, or walking down the hallway to my room,’ she told The Seattle Times.
The next thing she remembers is ‘waking up and being pulled on her right ankle,’ the lawsuit claims.
Pina said Engelien gave her a second glass of wine and ‘after just a few sips’ she struggled to lift up her head. She said she later woke up in his bedroom naked from the waist down
Pina knew that her captain had been in the armed forces too and thought it might have made for a topic of conversation when they would meet up for a drink while off-duty
‘When I woke up, everything was hazy. I remember seeing a figure, somebody pulling at my right ankle, and rolling over and trying to say ‘No”.
‘And then, I was out again.’
She allegedly woke up again hours later on Engelien’s vomit-soaked hotel bed wearing her top and bra, but no pants or underwear.
‘This is the part … when it all kind of clicked,’ she told ABC News. ‘I saw the nightstand, and I saw my black purse, and I opened it to see if my phone was in there because I could feel it, and my underwear were in my purse … and I am just freaking out.
‘Why would I put my underwear in my purse? I’ve never done anything like that,’ she added. ‘That to me seemed like he did that. He wanted to clean it up or obviously this was very calculated, it’s very orchestrated.’
The lawsuit alleges that when Pina confronted the captain about what had occurred, he denied any sexual contact, and said, ‘You were coming on to me pretty hard.’
‘When Ms Pina challenged Mr Engelien as to what had occurred, he denied any sexual contact,’ the complaint said.
Pina also said that while she was in Engelien’s room she heard him on the phone, admitting to an airline official that he had been drinking that night.
The lawsuit states that a flight attendant had reported Engelien to the first officer on duty saying she saw him walking in the hotel hallway ‘with a girl and two glasses of wine’.
Alaska Airlines said that Engelien is grounded and is no longer flying with the company during the investigation
The flight attendant told the first officer that she did not feel comfortable flying with the pilot.
Engelien and Pina had been scheduled to pilot a flight back to Seattle that morning, but they were pulled off and put in two coach seats on a flight headed to the city.
Pina reported the incident to her union representative two days after the encounter but did not go to the police.
She said she initially did not feel comfortable reporting the alleged rape, but decided to alert the Air Line Pilots Association when she found a bruise in the shape of a handprint on her thigh.
They were both interviewed by airline officials and representatives from the pilots’ union over the next two days.
Pina’s lawsuit comes at a time of the global #MeToo and #TimesUp movements which have seen hundreds of women speaking out against sexual harassment and misconduct, particularly in the workplace.
The lawsuit argues that Engelien’s ‘grossly abusive actions epitomize the necessity and purpose of the #MeToo movement.’
Pina, who is employed as a first officer in good standing, returned to active duty with Alaska Airlines in January
Pina said she is also considering pursuing a criminal case against the married pilot.
Following Pina’s allegations, the airline hired lawyer Marcella Reed to investigate whether Pina and Engelien had violated a company policy prohibiting pilots from drinking alcohol 10 hours before a scheduled flight.
Engelien has been grounded and has been ‘taken off the line’ during the investigation.
Alaska Airlines told Dailymail.com that they would not comment on the ‘open and active investigation’.
‘What we can say is that we are taking this matter seriously. It is our policy to withhold an employee from work during this type of investigation,’ airline spokeswoman Ann Johnson said. ‘What we can say is that we are taking this matter seriously. The safety and well-being of our employees and guests is a top priority.’
Meanwhile, support for the Pina has been growing on social media.
‘Unless you publicly deal with your Pilot/Rapist Paul Engelien, I, my family, and all of our co-workers will stop using @AlaskaAir. Support Betty Pina!’ one user wrote.
‘Remove the accused ‘predator pilot’ & fix this problem immediately’ another chastised the airline.