Pilot-Lawyer Filed Whistleblower Appeal Too Late, Says 7th Cir.

A United Airlines pilot who also is a lawyer can’t move forward with a whistleblower safety case because she filed her appeal one day too late, the Seventh Circuit held.

In so ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit bypassed Soma Priddle’s contention that filing deadline requirements under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation and Investment Reform Act for the 21st (AIR21) aren’t jurisdictional—despite acknowledging that it’s an “open question.”

Priddle, who has flown small and midsize aircraft for United since 1989, accused the airline of suspending her Boeing 777 training and requiring a fitness-for-duty exam because she reported maintenance safety issues in the past. United contended it based its actions on Priddle’s performance issues during training.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration dismissed Priddle’s AIR 21 whistleblower case as unsupported, and Labor Department judges affirmed that her case was both meritless and untimely.

Priddle allegedly attempted to file a petition for review in person at the Seventh Circuit, but said the clerk told her that she, as a lawyer, had to mail it or file it electronically. Priddle mailed the petition, but the clerk received it one day after the 60-day period allowed to challenge AIR21 cases in a federal appeals court.

The Seventh Circuit rejected Priddle’s arguments that her filing wasn’t untimely, including that she acted in good faith.

“Maybe so, but ‘good faith’ is not a basis for excusing untimely filings—at least not without more,” the appeals court said Thursday in an unpublished decision.

Judges Ilana Diamond Rovner, Diane Sykes, and Amy St. Eve joined in the opinion.

Priddle represented herself. The Justice Department represented DOL.

The case is Priddle v. US Dep’t of Labor, 2026 BL 230097, 7th Cir., No. 25-1695, unpublished 6/18/26.