| "Flight Risk" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 19.11 | → |
| Production number: 19011 First aired: 17 January 2018 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Julie Martin & Allison Intrieri Directed By Michael Pressman | ||
Summary[]
When an airline pilot accuses her captain of sexual assault, Barba convenes a grand jury to determine their employer's complicity in the crime. Meanwhile, Fin takes steps to ensure Benson is protected at work.
Plot[]
Carter is confident that he will not be charged for Howell until Rollins brings out evidence such as photos and emails between them. Roger Kressler asks what they want, as Barba requests that Carter plead guilty to a deal of 10 years. Carter initially refuses until Barba says if they go to trial, he’ll be looking at 25 years for another rape. After sharing looks with his lawyer, Carter begrudgingly agrees to 10 years.
After the case, Benson can tell that Barba is not satisfied and he confirms this because of what Tara, Howell, and other female employees have endured. She asks what he intends to do, and he decides to end this injustice at Optimum Air.
Convening a grand jury, he has many female workers of the company come forward to give examples of the injustices these women have suffered. One by one each worker details the harassment that they have faced and how the airline has given no punishment to those who break the rules. One woman in particular comes forward with important evidence and applauds Barba for finally taking down this airline.
Afterwards, Barba addresses the jurors and insults some of them. He then tells the jurors this treatment is what women of Optimum Air and other airlines have put their female workers through over the years with no one really paying the situation any mind. Barba then gives a speech, requesting that the people make indictments for larceny against Optimum Air. His moving words leave the jury wondering about their future actions.
At the precinct, Benson congratulates Barba on successfully getting the indictments against Optimum. He accepts her words while confident that he can win his appeal after Optimum moves to dismiss.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
Recurring cast[]
- Ned Eisenberg as Defense Attorney Roger Kressler
- Peter Gallagher as Chief William Dodds
- Sonia Manzano as Judge Gloria Pepitone
Guest cast[]
- Yasmine Al Massri as Tara Sidnana
- Roxanna Hope Radja as Dr. Alexis Sidnana
- Anastasia Barzee as Jeanne Howell
- Reg Rogers as Carl Fleming
- Martin Donovan as Logan Carter
- Ana Maria Jamoica as Ellen Gray
- Blair Busbee as Erin Kay
- Tyrone Mitchell Henderson as Kevin Reed
- Iliana Guibert as Sandy Sullivan
- Tom Day as Agent Doherty
- Phae Lewis as Molly Harrison
- Liam Craig as Air Traffic Supervisor
- Jennifer Dorr White as Passenger #1
- Jonathan Schenk as Passenger #2
- Felicia A. Dinwiddle as Passenger #3
- Molly Crowley as Passenger #4
- David Scott Purdy as Air Traffic Control Employee
- Sara Brophy as Ms. Mile High
- Peter Saide as Mr. Mile High
- Holly Holcomb as Grand Juror #4
- Deja Blaise as Grand Juror #17
- John Mack as Air Marshall
References[]
- Noah Porter-Benson
- Lucy Huston
- Mike Dodds
- Sheila Porter
- Hillary Clinton
- Anthracite Magazine
- New York Ledger
- Fox News
- Huffington Post
- Bangalore
Quotes[]
- Tutuola: Thank god for flight insurance.
- Carisi: Come on, Fin, don't tell me you canceled your trip.
- Tutuola: Look, if I have a choice between fishing and living...
- Rollins: You know, it's bad enough we had to worry about passengers, now co-pilots? I'm with Fin.
- Tutuola: Plus, this terrorist stuff happens in threes. So until the next two pop off, call me homeboy. I'm staying home.
- Rollins: So, Sandy Sullivan is on the phone. She's a union rep for Optimum Air.
- Benson: The airline that almost just crashed?
- Rollins: Yeah. According to Sullivan, the co-pilot is saying she was raped.
- Agent Doherty: We have agents at her apartment right now. We've dumped her phone, computer. Performed a deep search of all her social media accounts. So far, there's no links to terrorism. Either she's the best sleeper agent there is...
- Benson: Or she's telling the truth.
- Alexis Sidnana: This is crazy. Those trips to Bangalore, I was with her. We went for my grandmother's 99th birthday. Three weeks, later she died. We went back for the funeral. Why isn't anyone reporting that?
- Rollins: Because terrorists make better news.
- Rollins: Tara told us that she visited you sometime in July.
- Alexis Sidnana: She showed up at my doorstep, unannounced. She said she had some vacation days.
- Rollins: You didn't believe her?
- Alexis Sidnana: My sister's idea of a day off is flying standby from New York to Paris. Not to see the Eiffel Tower, just to be on a plane.
- Rollins: So when she showed up...
- Alexis Sidnana: She went right to my guest room, closed the door, and slept. For eighteen hours. I checked on her, that's when I saw the bruises on her neck and wrists.
- Rollins: What did she say happened?
- Alexis Sidnana: She was mugged. You know, working here, I have seen my share of rapes. Tara had all the signs. I pled with her to go the police. I said I'd go with her.
- Rollins: What'd she say happened?
- Alexis Sidnana: She cried. She stayed a week, and then she was gone. Just... no goobye, nothing.
- Carisi: Lieutenant, I believe Tara was raped. I do. But even with the terrorism charge getting dropped, we're swimming upstream.
- Benson: Optimum Air knew that Carter raped her, and still they put her in that cockpit with him.
- Dodds: Fine. But if you proceed with this case, I suggest you get yourself a big umbrella, 'cause the skies are gonna open up and a lot of federal crap is gonna come raining down on your head.
- Benson: My umbrella is... plenty big.
- Tutuola: [entering as Dodds leaves] Want me to cut him? You know I'll do it.
- Carisi: [to Tara Sidnana] The bartender at the Hyland says that you and Logan were having drinks and that you appeared to be having a good time.
- Tara Sidnana: Logan apologized for grounding me. He said he was having problems at home. I bought him a drink because I wanted to show him we were good.
- Benson: A defense attorney will say this was consensual.
- Tara Sidnana: He walked me to my room. He kissed me on the lips. I slapped him, hard. He pushed his way in. He threw me on the bed. His hand was over my throat and I couldn't speak. He pulled my legs apart and he raped me. None of this was consensual.
- Barba: [about Tara] It's a he said, she said, only he's a hero and she's a crazy woman who took a plane hostage.
- Benson: Guys like Carter, Tara couldn't have been his first victim.
- Barba: Well, if there's someone else, Optimum Air is not going to help us find her. We need something stronger, Liv.
- Captain Logan Carter: We had sex. Just like other people who meet at a bar. I'm guilty of cheating on my wife, that's all.
- Roger Kressler: Did Optimum Air tell you she filed a complaint about being raped?
- Rollins: No, the airline extorted Tara's silence by promising her a promotion.
- Rollins: I used to think pilots were sexy. Silly me.
- Barba: Let's hope the jury isn't blinded by the uniform.
- [about Tara]
- Benson: She has a right to be angry. I get it. Jurors don't like difficult women.
- Barba: Especially female jurors.
- Benson: Tara was raped, Jeanne. She tried to get over it. She tried to do her job, but then she was put in the cockpit with the man who raped her. So yes, she lost control. She's gonna do prison time. Logan Carter may walk. My question to you is, can you live with yourself if that happens? Can you live with yourself if he does it again?
- Logan Carter: Jeanne Howell? Do you know what I did for her?
- Barba: We know what you did to her.
- Logan Carter: You want to hear about Jeanne Howell? I can keep you here for hours.
- Rollins: Luckily, Mrs. Howell is meticulous. She's detail-oriented; probably what makes her a good pilot. She kept evidence of the assault. Some of it ripped. Photos of the physical trauma, and e-mails between the two of you after the rape.
- Barba: You were a little loose-lipped, Captain.
- Benson: Contemporary statements to her friends.
- Roger Kressler: What are you looking for?
- Barba: The captain pleads guilty to two counts rape two, ten years.
- Logan Carter: Are you crazy?
- Barba: We could go to trial, on Jeanne Howell's rape. If you're found guilty, you're looking at twenty-five years.
- Roger Kressler: [after a moment of silence, he and Carter share a look] Draw up your paperwork.
- Barba: Logan Carter raped two women, sexually harassed God knows how many. Optimum knew and they did nothing.
- Benson: So what are you saying? Putting away one rapist pilot isn't enough?
- Barba: No, it's not. The whole culture has to change. All the people who enabled Captain Carter should be in that cell with him.
- Benson: Yes, they should. But unfortunately, being sexist, uh... misogynistic pigs isn't a crime.
- Barba: It should be.
- Benson: Congratulations on the indictment.
- Barba: [with a laugh] The first thing Optimum will do is make a motion to dismiss. Which they'll win, but I get to appeal.
- Benson: And you'll win that?
- Barba: 60/40 against. But we got the wheels turning. If this law's ever going to change, this is a good start.
- Benson: [showing the New York Ledger] You know, I thought that grand jury proceedings were secret.
- Barba: They are, but that courthouse leaks like a sieve. Optimum's stock is down 30%, they'll be declaring bankruptucy by the end of the week.
- Benson: You're a feminist icon, Rafael.
- Barba: Hmm. I do my best. I think that earns me a nice, thick steak.
Background Information and Notes[]
- Two deleted scenes were posted on Youtube:
- This episode titled "Flight Risk" was inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, but set in the airline industry as opposed to the movie industry in Hollywood.
- Optimum Air's marketing campaign is very similar to Southwest Airline's strategy when it was just a start-up in 1967.
- Since 9/11 no pilot is allowed to be in the cockpit alone. If one pilot has to go to the bathroom or take a break a flight attendant takes their place to prevent this very situation, 1 pilot being able to crash a plane and no one in the rest of the plane can get in to stop them. FAA rules is that at least two people must be in the locked cockpit at all times during the flight.
- It would not of been possible for the captain and the air marshal to break down the cockpit door with a food cart, or anything else on the plane including the air marshal's gun. After 9-11 all commercial cockpit doors have reinforced Kevlar within the panels to stop any hijacker from gaining access to the cockpit by shooting it. A passenger would not able to smash the door in as the doors also have reinforced titanium spars running the length and width of the door. Therefore if something was to make a strong impact against the door, it wouldn't cave in.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Optimum Air Headquarters |
Mercy Hospital |
JFK International Airport |
Folly Square |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Supreme Court |
Million Air |
Grand Jury |
Grand Jury |
Footnotes[]
| Previous episode: "Pathological" |
"Flight Risk" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 19 |
Next episode: "Info Wars" |