A Southwest flight attendant has sued the airline after claiming two pilots secretly recorded video of the plane's bathroom on an iPad during a flight.



The alleged incident occurred on Flight 1088 from Pittsburgh to Phoenix on Feb. 27, 2017. According to court records reviewed by BuzzFeed News, about two and a half hours into the flight, Capt. Terry Graham requested that a flight attendant accompany copilot Ryan Russell in the plane's cockpit while Graham left to use the bathroom, as Southwest policy requires two crew members in the cockpit at all times.



When Renee Steinaker, a flight attendant, entered the cockpit, she says she saw an iPad mounted to the plane's windshield that showed Graham in the plane's bathroom. Steinaker claims that when she asked Russell, who also had a clear view of the iPad, whether the camera was livestreaming from the bathroom, he admitted that it was and told her it was hidden where "no one would ever find it." The lawsuit alleges that Russell asked Steineker not to tell anyone about the camera or recordings because they were on the "downlow."

"That was horrific to her," Ron Goldman, an attorney for Steinaker, told BuzzFeed News.

Russell allegedly told Steinaker that the cameras were a new feature on Southwest Airlines' 737-800s and were in all of the bathrooms on the flight.

Southwest said in a statement to BuzzFeed News that the airline "does not place cameras in the lavatories of our aircraft."

According to court documents, Steinaker took a photo of the iPad and the video of Graham using her cellphone, which she later shared with the other flight attendants.



Upon returning from the bathroom, Steinaker claims Graham tried to hide the iPad and refused to answer her questions about it. Both Graham and Russell allegedly disembarked the plane immediately upon landing in Phoenix, which Steinaker says was a violation of protocol.



Graham also left a loaded firearm unattended in the cockpit, the lawsuit alleges.