United Express Captain Arrested for Botched Castration of Transgender Woman

An enterprising director could make a United Pilots Gone Wild! video out of the two who were too drunk to fly, the one that was running brothels all over Houston and the United Express pilot and co-pilot who got into a fight.

Now a Chicago O’Hare-based United Express captain for ExpressJet, the same Express carrier where a flight couldn’t continue because pilots were fighting, has been arrested in a Colorado castration case. And it gets even stranger.

A man charged with using an Army surgical kit to remove the testicles of a transgender woman is an airline captain based at Chicago O’Hare, the I-Team has learned.

James Pennington, 57, was arrested on Thursday by police in Denver, Colorado and charged with suspicion of first degree assault when he allegedly castrated a transgender woman during a makeshift operation in the woman’s apartment.

The pilot lives in Denver but commutes to O’Hare where’s he’s based for ExpressJet, and has flown with the carrier for twelve years.

Reportedly the transgender woman’s wife “observed the 90 minute illicit surgery” on Wednesday and then called for an ambulance when “a large amount of blood” gushed from the incision three hours later.

This was apparently a consensual surgery performed using a military field surgical kit.

A police affidavit states that Pennington used a scalpel to surgically disconnect and remove the victim’s two testicles and then stitched up the incision.

On the one hand it harkens to the days of back alley abortions. On the other perhaps it says something about modern day health insurance coverage. Mostly for me I wonder how markets are made like this, connecting black market pilot-surgeon and patient wanting to be castrated.

This arrest lends new meaning to flight cancellations “due to crew availability.”

(HT: Ken A.)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Why not report this for what it was, YET ANOTHER Express Jet incident. It just so happens that Express Jet is a subcontractor providing flight services as “American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express carrier.” Why just load all the bad news of this disturbed individual onto United? coz you’re desperate for headlines…

  2. Gary,

    Do a Google search for body modification. It is a large underground industry. While you’re at it, check suspension. Hooks are placed into one’s back and then you are hoisted into the air. Hanging by skin on your back! All part of BM art!

  3. I guess he shouldn’t be flying since he botched an operation in the cockpit.

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