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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Who is unreasonable? what does MN think of this?

256 replies

ollieplimsoles · 11/05/2015 17:55

this story just broke on social media, (hope you can all see it)

www.facebook.com/donna.m.beegle/posts/816056981803855

That is the mothers account of what happened, very mixed responses from the commenters, what does everyone think?

Here is a news report of it:
7online.com/news/parents-plan-legal-action-after-daughter-with-autism-kicked-off-flight/713012/

OP posts:
wiltingfast · 11/05/2015 19:34

What a story, customer care is dead then? Why on earth didn't they just give a hot meal to the girl? In what manual is it a good idea to pick a completely unnecessary row with a passenger rather than try and accommodate them in some way?

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:36

Did you read the thread, wilting?

GoodbyeToAllOfThat · 11/05/2015 19:40

The dad hasn't started a FB page, for starters.

The flight crew might have been jockeying back and forth between first class and coach to see if they had an extra meal for this girl, god only knows the kind of pain they'd endure if they fell short in first class. Imagine if you'd paid for a first class ticket only to find that they'd given your lunch away.

Eltonjohnsflorist · 11/05/2015 19:45

I agree with the posters who said you just don't threaten (or, warn of the upcoming) violence mid flight and expect no action to be taken.

I didn't really pick up on any body language in that video but I was expecting the other passengers to be up in arms from her description and they seem rather passive.

I don't mean to be offensive but is it usual for a 15 year old diagnosed at 3 to so little in the way of coping methods? I agree that the daughter does look fine, but the way the mother describes it seems to indicate she has none?

MaidOfStars · 11/05/2015 19:49

Is it not plausible that the way autism is talked about in the Stares lends itself to slightly different language?

MythicalKings · 11/05/2015 19:51

What is it with blaming the mother??

The mother was mouthing off at the staff. The mother said her daughter could get violent. The mother plastered it all over faebook and the media and is saying she'll sue.

Yup. I blame the mother.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:53

MaidOfStars Absolutely.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:56

I agree with the posters who said you just don't threaten (or, warn of the upcoming) violence mid flight and expect no action to be taken.

I didn't really pick up on any body language in that video but I was expecting the other passengers to be up in arms from her description and they seem rather passive.

I don't mean to be offensive but is it usual for a 15 year old diagnosed at 3 to so little in the way of coping methods? I agree that the daughter does look fine, but the way the mother describes it seems to indicate she has none?

^Then two police officers approached our row. They said they needed us to exit the plane. I said, "Why?" The officer asked if Juliette was scratching someone. I again said, "no." I told them asked for hot food to prevent a melt down and said we wanted to prevent her getting to the point of being upset or scratching which she sometimes does in frustration. I told the officer the flight attendant gave her hot food and she has been fine the whole trip. The officer said they we were going to still have us exit the plane. I told him this makes no sense. Nothing had happened. Passengers around us were telling the officers that Juliette was fine and there was no problem. The officer told us "The captain is not comfortable flying to Portland with your daughter on the plane. You have to leave the plane." The captain had never seen Juliette nor had he come out of the front cabin.
All the time they were talking to me, Juliette was happily watching her video. The officer asked us again to quietly exit the plane. I was furious. I stood and shouted so the passengers could hear. "Is there anyone on this plane who feels threatened by our Juliette who faces autism? Has Juliette alarmed or harmed anyone on this plane? Passengers stood up for Juliette and shouted, "She is fine," "Leave her alone." "She is not causing a problem lets go to Portland." "This is ridiculous," and mouthed to me "I am so sorry."
The police repeated that we needed to leave the plane. The captain came out and we saw him for the first time. He said, "Let's not make this situation worse. I said, "You made it worse. You never even saw Juliette and I have no idea what your flight attendant told you but nothing happened." I was so shaken and tears begin to fall. As mom I could not stand the way Juliette was being treated. I said I am not leaving the plane until I have statements and names showing there was NO issue. The officer said he would take statements. He came off the plane with 10 pages of passenger statements and showed them to me. He said, "You know we have some really violent cases where the plane should land. This is not one of those. You have a lot of people supporting your claim that nothing happened and your daughter should stay on the plane." He gave me the police report number and told me I can get copies of the report and the statements.^

What she describes and what happens on the video don't match. ;)

MidniteScribbler · 11/05/2015 20:00

You don't threaten any form of violence when travelling on board a plane. And you especially do not do it when travelling in the U.S. The pilot had to make a call about diverting before a potentially dangerous situation occurred, I doubt it was a decision he took lightly.

There has to be a lot more to this story. I flew United a number of years ago. I was in the very back row and by the time the meals got to me all that was left was fish. The thought of airline fish didnt appeal so I told the FA not to worry. I wasn't rude, and we had a laugh about how unappealing it sounded. Ten minutes later she came down the aisle with a spare first class meal for me. Ithink it was probably the mothers actions rather than any policy about food that caused the incident.

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2015 20:01

Unless you saw a different video, there was pretty much no dialogue from anyone other than the person taking the video. So everything she claims to have said to the policeman could be true. Also it's obvious that the situation is already underway when the video starts so she could have shouted to the other passengers before it started.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 20:02

Interesting post to her FB page.

Well Mz Donna, it has been a long time that I have seen your name pop up, You crack me up, still up to the same old schemes of the past. I bet you are laughing all the way to the bank. I bet the good old professor that put you through college is enjoying this. BTW what about your responsibility? You travel, you knew the rules, why didn't you just bring nyour daughter the food she liked, yes they do make hot food thermos's. On the other hand, it is nice to see you are trying to make some kind of difference, even tho the schemer stuff still comes to surface. Yep, you are cracking me up!

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 20:04

What about this bit, soapboxqueen?

I said I am not leaving the plane until I have statements and names showing there was NO issue. The officer said he would take statements. He came off the plane with 10 pages of passenger statements and showed them to me.

The police left with the family. So when were these statements taken? And did she actually get off the plane when she said she wasn't going to?

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2015 20:06

Are they allowed to take a hot thermos (thermosi, thermosesss) on a plane Confused?

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2015 20:06

Disappointed I would assume he made sure they were back in the terminal, then went back for statements.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 20:08

Hmmmm. It's not the image I get from her description.

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2015 20:10

Point is. We don't really know. They're should be a website that follows up these stories so we can find out what happens in the end.

Does she sue?
Do the other passengers sue?
Does the officer contradict her story?

Who knows?

soapboxqueen · 11/05/2015 20:10

*there

Leonas · 11/05/2015 20:14

The mum should not have effectively threatened the staff with the prospect of her daughter becoming violent if she didn't get a hot meal - she should have planned for that situation in advance if that was the potential outcome. Flight staff have to consider the safety of all passengers and a decision must have been made that the risk of her daughter having a meltdown was a risk to the other passengers on the plane. Had the mother not insinuated that this was a possibility then the staff would not have deemed her daughter a risk. Feels like the mum wanted it both ways and it backfired?

steff13 · 11/05/2015 20:18

I didn't think meals were served on flights shorter than 5 hours. A direct flight from Houston to Portland would be about 4.5 hours. I may be wrong about that, though.

The article posted in the OP refers to mom as Dr. Beegle. What kind of a doctor is she?

NRomanoff · 11/05/2015 20:18

The video doesn't matchmaker timeline. The policeman could have said those things. But no one was objecting to her leaving the plane. I think the airline wanted her off not the daughter.

BoneyBackJefferson · 11/05/2015 20:21

soapboxqueen
"That's like saying we can't let people with disabilities/in wheel chairs on first because everyone will want to be on first too."

Its not really is it. Its like saying if you want a hot meal on a plane you should plan for it and pay to be in the correct section of the plane.

hedgehogsdontbite · 11/05/2015 20:23

By her own account she argued with the flight attendant for 40 minutes. I'm not surprised she got thrown off. I'm autistic, she'd have brought on a meltdown in me.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 11/05/2015 20:24

There was a thread on Mumsnet a few weeks ago by a woman who was assaulted on board a plane. It was pretty awful. The violent person wasn't restrained and several flight attendants came on and explained that to restrain someone on board is actually really really dangerous for the crew, the person being restrained and for everyone around them.

It seems that basically if someone becomes violent on a flight then people will get hurt and there is very little that can be done about it.

Tizwailor · 11/05/2015 20:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NRomanoff · 11/05/2015 20:26

hedge raises a good point. How do we know another passenger didn't get upset by this carrying on?

There could have been other people, with autism or not, that were upset. That might be why she was removed.