​The union representing pilots for Tempe-based US Airways says the airline tried to intimidate a pilot into flying a malfunctioning plane last month. When she refused, the US Airways Pilots Association says, she was forced off the plane and "met by [the airline's] corporate security and escorted out of the airport."

In fact, the union claims, a total of six pilots refused to fly the plane before the airline agreed to make the necessary repairs.

This, according to the union, is just one incident representative of a "safety culture" based on "intimidation and disrespect" -- a culture the union exposed in a full-page ad in USA Today on Friday.

US Airways did not immediately return our call this afternoon. However, the airline has been in bitter contract negotiations with its union since 2005, and in an e-mail to employees Friday, Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom called the union's accusations a "smear campaign that in reality is all about contract negotiations, not safety." He adds that the plane in question "flew that day and performed flawlessly."