A North Texas woman saw the potential for deadly accidents at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and faced the consequences of speaking out.

D/FW is the world's fifth-busiest passenger airport, with more than 60 million arrivals and departures every year. But when veteran air traffic controller Anne Whiteman blew the whistle on potentially-deadly lapses and mistakes, few listened.

"Every time something happened I thought, 'gee, somebody is gonna put an end to this,'" said Whiteman.

But no one did at first, as News 8 reported months ago.

The closest call at D/FW to date happened late last year between a business jet and a passenger plane - a collision averted by seven seconds.

But Whiteman said once she raised her concerns, things got ugly. Friday on Oprah, she talked about being ostracized and threatened.

"I can't work there anymore," Whiteman said.

She endured verbal harassment, practical jokes that put planes in jeopardy, and even what she considers an assault on her life as she drove to work...

"I looked over and saw it was a co-worker," she recalled. "I stopped at a light to let him go ahead, and he waited for me, and as I went down the road he picked up speed and swerved right in front of me to run me off the road."

And still she refused to quit.

Now, federal authorities are listening to Whiteman. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the Department of Transportation have both opened investigations, and she does still have a job at the airport although she's been reassigned.