Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance · Dr. Tony Kern

Exposing Aviation’s Dark Underbelly (ft Really Special Guest Sara Hammel)

·48 min·3 clips

After Sarah Hammel praised Sten Mullen, flight attendants sent emails alleging sexual assault and rape.

1. Only Human turns to aviation culture in an episode centered on Sarah Hammel and the fallout from Flight 587. 2. The host introduces Sarah Hammel as an investigative journalist, bestselling author, and writer on aviation abuse cases that followed her reporting on Sten Mullen. 3. The episode asks how harassment, assault, and retaliation can persist inside aviation despite a workforce full of skilled professionals. 4. Hammel recounts publishing a piece about Sten Mullen after the 20th anniversary of Flight 587 in 2021. 5. She says flight attendants then contacted her with allegations that Mullen had sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, or raped them on layovers. 6. Hammel describes waiting a full year before naming Mullen as a rapist because she wanted real people and real names behind the claims. 7. The conversation then moves to Kimberly Gosselin, whose American Airlines case went to court after an on-the-job sexual assault. 8. Hammel uses Christine Janning’s Southwest Airlines case as her clearest example of what she calls old boys club culture. 9. She says Janning’s court filings describe a captain who stripped naked in the cockpit and was convicted in federal court for lewd behavior. 10. Hammel adds that a Southwest union letter supported the convicted pilot, which she sees as evidence of who gets protected. 11. The hosts connect those cases to a broader safety problem, arguing that aviation cannot separate professional conduct from operational performance. 12. Hammel says many victims are young, scared, or told to keep quiet, which keeps their cases from becoming part of visible change. 13. She argues that pilots remain treated like gods in many airline environments, especially where male authority still sets the tone. 14. The conversation returns to Crew Resource Management and the historical shift from World War II-era captains to a more balanced cockpit culture. 15. The host says CRM began as a response to a large authority gradient and later became a documented way to reduce human error and mishaps. 16. Hammel argues that the same kind of culture shift is needed now so harassment becomes socially unacceptable rather than privately tolerated. 17. The tone stays conversational and direct, with the host challenging Hammel on NDAs, HR, unions, and the role of management. 18. Hammel responds in an interview style that mixes court-case detail, personal reporting history, and recurring examples from women who contact her. 19. Listeners interested in aviation safety, union culture, and workplace accountability will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for light aviation talk or a short celebrity-style interview may skip this one.

As heard by us

A blunt look at aviation culture, silence, and the cost of speaking up.

Only Human makes a plain case for aviation culture and the harm that can stay hidden when people are told to keep quiet. Sarah Hamill comes across as an investigative journalist and bestselling author, and the host gives her room to talk through psych evals, threats, sexual…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the aviation-culture story behind the headlines and the people pushing hidden harm into the open.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance