United Airlines Flight Emergency Landing due to Autistic Teenager 10/05/2015

[whole diary]

[Trowres]

Thinking rather more widely than this specific case, I find it rather curious that we can spend a fortune on providing disabled access toilets on trains etc., but can't get right a few simple issues that would greatly assist other disabled travellers.

[ChrisB]

Wouldn't you be chatting & explaining this situation, if you are correct, to both the gate staff & the crew on boarding?....

[ChrisB]

Thinking rather more widely than this specific case, I find it rather curious that we can spend a fortune on providing disabled access toilets on trains etc., but can't get right a few simple issues that would greatly assist other disabled travellers.

There's a danger that if you provide too much/everything, those responsible will stop thinking about their responsibilities - and as we have seen, this can be disadvantageous in the long run.

[chrisr_75]

The mother would have known that she would have been unable to leave her child/seat, sorry. That child hadn't just developed the illness. My point stands, think ahead & take responsibility

Alternatively, walk a mile in the shoes of someone with a child who has a disability. No matter how carefully one plans and prepares, just occasionally a random spanner is thrown in the works. Would you be saying the same about thinking ahead and taking responsibility when travelling with someone who has a physical disability that can manifest itself without warning - for example - epilepsy?

Mitigate as much as possible, but, if and when things go wrong, I think it's only reasonable that any service providers you happen to be in the care of at a given time should be defaulting to empathy, and be prepared to use common sense rather than falling back on 'not my problem' or 'company policy'. All I see from this particular story is a gross over-reaction by the airline staff to someone with a disability.

To quote Robert Burns: The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!

For example, I have a family member who is a type 1 diabetic (insulin dependent), who, despite good overall management of the condition, without fail always carries an emergency source of sugar, adequate supplies of insulin & blood testing materials and wears a medic alert bracelet in the event it does all go wrong when unaccompanied and a paramedic, first aider, police etc is trying to find out what is wrong. Belts & braces approach = much reduced likelihood of major dramas if things start to deviate from the norm.

In this case, the airline staff were considering the welfare of everyone on board above & beyond any individual requirements and must think about the worst case scenario, no matter how unlikely, of an uncontrolled situation developing whilst airborne when they have received 'threats' that someone could become violent. Put yourself in the captains shoes - 200+ people in your direct care, word comes from the cabin crew that someone is reaching 'meltdown' and may start to become violent to some degree or another - what would you do? Carry on blindly and accept whatever consequences arise (ultimately if the girl had lost it completely, she may have been restrained), or land and sort it out nice and safely, in a controlled situation on the ground?

[ChrisB]

Taking that further, if you know your child might well have a meltdown on board as you know (or should realise!) that your child hasn't eaten (did it *need* to be HOT food? - real question, I don't know & find it hard to believe if so), wouldn't you have second thoughts for the rest of the passengers that your child might put them in danger? Or would you *risk* it. Hmmmm

[TaplowGreen]

Thinking rather more widely than this specific case, I find it rather curious that we can spend a fortune on providing disabled access toilets on trains etc., but can't get right a few simple issues that would greatly assist other disabled travellers.

There's a danger that if you provide too much/everything, those responsible will stop thinking about their responsibilities - and as we have seen, this can be disadvantageous in the long run.

I don't think disabled people and their families expect or ask for "too much/everything", and few get the chance to overlook their often life defining "responsibilities", in fact most wish for nothing more than to be treated the same as anyone else, but a little compassion,  help and understanding doesn't go amiss when their (often unpredictable) conditions cause difficulties.

Not everything in life is black and white, there but for the grace of God etc?

[JayMac]

It may well have needed to be hot food. This is someone with autism remember.

What I can't quite understand is the situation appeared to have been resolved. The Stewardess made a reasonable accommodation (like the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), the US has disability discrimination laws that compel service providers to make reasonable adjustments) and provided the food. Then someone informed the pilot that there was a passenger on board with 'behavior issues'.

Now perhaps the mother was a little too demanding, but that shouldn't abrogate the airline's responsibility to not discriminate. Diverting and removing the mother and autistic daughter seems a gross over-reaction to me.

[chrisr_75]

It may well have needed to be hot food. This is someone with autism remember.

However, it is normally clearly stated on booking what catering is provided on board, so if it had to be hot food (and I completely understand why it might actually have to be) then why did the lady not book a first class ticket instead, to cover all eventualities rather than leaving it to chance?

What I can't quite understand is the situation appeared to have been resolved. The Stewardess made a reasonable accommodation (like the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), the US has disability discrimination laws that compel service providers to make reasonable adjustments) and provided the food. Then someone informed the pilot that there was a passenger on board with 'behavior issues'.

Now perhaps the mother was a little too demanding, but that shouldn't abrogate the airline's responsibility to not discriminate. Diverting and removing the mother and autistic daughter seems a gross over-reaction to me.

Agreed. I think there must've been some miscommunication going on between parents, cabin crew & flight deck in this instance, but I do think the captain was acting in good faith based on information received - they really will not divert a flight on a whim and will also not leave the flight deck in such circumstances without very good reason, especially if there is a chance of injury. We also do not know the level of aggravation displayed by the mother, so it could well be the mothers/parents approach/attitude which ultimately saw them offloaded.

The story presented in the Independent appears to very much based around the reports of the parents, with the airline taking a step back (probably due to a now pending court case  ), so my suspicion is that there is perhaps more to this than immediately meets the eye.

[didcotdean]

The Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to air travel except at airports. There is a different one called the Air Carrier Access Act. This makes no reference to food apart from an obligation to identify what it is, and open packaging. It does though say 'The carrier may refuse transportation if the individual with a disability would endanger the health or safety of other passengers'.

Dr Beegle escalated the situation which made a call to be made against this. The captain may have made this alone, or consulted with an ground-based medical advisor. Both though would only have the mother's description of the potential behaviour of Jennifer.

This was not a short flight. The family were returning from Orlando from a Disney holiday to Portland, with a connection in Houston. The leg in question was about 4.5 hours long; the previous leg 2.5 hours. On both legs snacks only are available for purchase (other routings would have provided the opportunity to purchase a meal). As more information emerges it seems that they were sold a sandwich initially on board but this did not help. Dr Beegle asked for this to be heated, but there were no facilities to do this.

[Trowres]

There's a danger that if you provide too much/everything, those responsible will stop thinking about their responsibilities - and as we have seen, this can be disadvantageous in the long run.

Yes, people should bring their own 4G and a big battery pack, not rely on the train company providing WiFi and power sockets. 

(sorry couldn't resist that!)

[TaplowGreen]

There's a danger that if you provide too much/everything, those responsible will stop thinking about their responsibilities - and as we have seen, this can be disadvantageous in the long run.

Yes, people should bring their own 4G and a big battery pack, not rely on the train company providing WiFi and power sockets. 

(sorry couldn't resist that!)

.....a portaloo may be a good idea too judging by several trains I've been on recently - it can double as a handy seat during times of delay/overcrowding too!

[Tim]

Completely agree with Phil. The parent is at fault here completely.

Whilst I agree that the parent is key here, I do have some sympathy for them.  The child is the parents responsibility, but it is not unreasonable for the parent to expect sympathy, understanding and reasonable flexibility from the crew (and other passengers).

The parent may have been completely at fault, but equally they might have been the best parent in the world.  Without being there I cannot tell.  In my experience these kind of cases ALWAYS have more facts than first meet the eye

[BerkshireBugsy]

I have a lot of respect for TheTrouts posts - and wonder what he would think about the contributions made since the original post.

So if you are reading this TT, please consider letting us know what you think

[thetrout]

Sorry, I've been busy the last few days so haven't had the opportunity to come back to this till now.

I quoted The Independent as I didn't want to use the Daily Mail article or the Fox News ones I found on the issue.

I've read a few news articles about this story and it seems the parent is partially at fault. But nevertheless I think the Pilot seriously overreacted in this case. Whether this was miscommunication or just an "Oh great I have a kid on my plane making threats I'm not in the mood for this..." probably influenced the flight crews decision.

When quoting the article I tried to be impartial and made clear that I was basing my original comments on face value of the information available at the time. Of course me having ASD would lead to me reading the article in poor taste...

Dr Beegle is quoted in some articles as saying that she had taken snacks / food with her for her daughter but these were refused. This leads me to speculate that her Daughter was severely distorted from her usual routine of a hot meal at a certain time. This could cause any person with ASD some serious anxiety and "freakout" issues. ASD sufferers DO NOT handle change in routine at all well.

Whether this was an oversight by the parent, or they were at the airport and the cafes/restaurants weren't serving hot food etc we don't know. The Hot Meal was offered to be paid for and I think had the airline staff have accepted that and been provided the meal then none of this would have happened.

From other articles it's suggested they've flown before and not had problems. So I think this is just one of those moments of when all involved got it seriously wrong. So I think a certain element of blame lies with all involved.

What I do know is that Special Assistance is provided at Airports and through my own experience it's either very good or atrocious... Cannot fault Ryanair when I've booked it with them, I've always received the special assistance. So I am also left wondering that maybe arrangements were made which failed to get to the right people.


Now for my personal belief. I think the parent is right to highlight the issues of ignorance to Autism. I have ASD and Schizophrenia, IBD and Continence issues... Now I have never declared Schizophrenia to airline staff because I know for absolute fact that it would raise concerns the moment I got near the aircraft. Some airlines actually require safety to fly for certain mental health conditions. So I adopt the don't ask, don't tell policy.

With this in mind if I received poor treatment from Airline Staff because I had an episode and hadn't disclosed the correct information beforehand, I wouldn't exactly go running to the press about it. That being said, I would absolutely do so if the correct declarations were made, I was deemed fit to fly by my GP and had made notice to the airline of my requirements.

This leads me back to an EasyJet experience where I had given EasyJet 2 weeks notice that I required an Aisle seat so I could gain quick and easy access to the toilet. This was to be at the front or the back of the plane. This was accepted, confirmed possible and that they would "look forward to seeing me"

Arrive at the airport and made myself aware to the Special Assistance team who indeed already had the paperwork from my phonecall with EasyJet. When we actually came to get on the plane (I hate flying remember) I started to get a bit agitated as I would do. The Pilot decided that I must sit in the Window seat. The Special Assistance team and myself protested that I had been told I could have an Aisle seat. The Pilot to cut a long argument short basically said "My Aircraft, My Rules, don't like it, don't fly on it or suck it up and deal with it"

Needless to say this seriously got my back up so I said that I had given reasonable notice to my requirements as of 2 weeks prior and told it would be fine so why was it now a problem. Playing Devils advocate I think he wanted me in the Window Seat so that if there was an emergency I wasn't going to be getting in others' way... Very distasteful... But probably bang on with the truth

This then caused the Senior Cabin Stewardess to intervene, Pilot has spoken so please take your seat. This was a rough version of the conversation:

Me: "No, Aisle seat or I don't fly, those are the choices"
Pilot: "You'll delay the flight even more sir, so please take a seat" - He then goes into the Cockpit
Me: "Then I'll be getting off, I am NOT sitting in that Window Seat"
Stewardess: "So you're really going to delay more than 100 people whilst we offload your bags etc"
Me: "Yes, absolutely. I made more than reasonable notification which you are now refusing to honor, so their delay is not my problem. Like your pilot said, suck it up </smug tone>"

Exactly this same incident happened a year later on a Ryanair Flight... However the Pilot said I could have the Aisle Seat provided that noone was sat next to me. This caused upset with fellow passengers who wanted to sit together. But as reasonable notice was given he upheld my request, The Crew were in a rather difficult position as the Pilot wanted me to be able to fly in as less an anxious state as possible. But it was all sorted and everyone was happy and the flight went without incident.


Having digressed slightly there. I am trying to explain (badly) that I think United Airlines overreacted to the whole incident. That is opinion that may change if it becomes clear at a later date that there was indeed much more to the story than there is now.

Everyone saying "Parent is at fault yada yada yada" doesn't really solve anything. Whilst I don't want to start a serious flame war. I often find these comments come from those who have little to no knowledge of care for someone with a Disability or blind ignorance to that disability. This is not always the case. But from my experience that is mostly true.


Much like has been said here regarding persons' with disabilities. I would like to lead as reasonable and normal a life as I possibly can and integrate with society / he community. However I am aware of the significant disadvantages I have and I know what / where my limits are. People get irate with me for going to the toilet often. On a good day the number is higher than average, but tolerable. But do people honestly belief I want to be visiting toilets upwards of 20 - 30 times a day? Of course I don't! But sometimes I really don't have a choice. So comments like "You should have gone before we left" I find depressing. So I tend to respond "Well I did, that was 20 minutes ago, this is now" - some people really can't take the hint can they...?

I have every sympathy for the teenager in this story. I recall my upbringing as a teenager and if any of that is a close resemblance to her, then I really do feel for her and hope she doesn't get tormented for this. I cannot condemn someone who reacted to a situation in a way they couldn't control... Throw me in a small room with many people and watch what happens!

Sadly, most with ASD are some of the nicest and most intelligent people out there. But often very misunderstood and dismissed as awkward/rude/annoying.

[ellendune]

I am trying to explain (badly) that I think United Airlines overreacted to the whole incident.

I disagree - I think you are explaining extraordinarily well that United Airlines overreacted.