Muslim Pilot can be fired

September 21, 2006

8th Circuit Says Trans States Airline
Was Justified In Firing Muslim Pilot


ST. LOUIS (CN) – The 8th Circuit dropped a discrimination claim against Trans States Airlines brought by a Muslim pilot of Indian descent who claimed he was wrongfully fired for allegedly saluting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a hotel bar. The EEOC claimed pilot Emmet Conrecode anonymously told the FBI and Capt. Daniel Reed, vice president of flight operations, that he overheard fully uniformed pilot Mohammed Shanif Hussein supporting the attacks a few days after they occurred. According to Conrecode, Hussein saw a replay of the planes hitting the twin towers on TV, raised his beer glass “as in a salute and took a swig.” Hussein claimed he had been smiling in the bar because he found out that his wife was pregnant. Nevertheless, Reed fired Hussein, a decision he claimed to have made before the FBI contacted him. The circuit found that the airline had established a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for firing Hussein, then a probationary employee. But it denied Trans States’ motion for attorney fees because the complaint was not entirely frivolous. See Hussein v. Trans States Airlines, via

courthouse news.