[nabs-l] Fwd: [Members] Airline apologizes for forgetting blind teen

[Darrell Shandrow]

Hello Sarah and all,

I think we may want to exercise care before judging this situation too 
quickly.

Many times while traveling by air, flight attendants have asked that I 
wait until the plane has emptied before leaving. Sometimes I do this and 
sometimes I don't.

If Jessica were asked to wait, then she were forgotten, then she 
certainly does have a very legitimate complaint here.

We also need to keep in mind that members of the blind community have 
wide ranging capabilities and other disabilities with which they must cope.

As always, this just comes down to the fact we all must exercise our due 
diligence while performing our jobs to avoid problems of this sort.


On 5/15/2010 4:19 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote:
> I think she should have gotten off the plain by her self. How hard can that be? just  get off and turn right and go up the ramp thing and turn left and get out and then wait for your escort. but here's the story.
>
> Airline apologizes for forgetting blind teen
>
> Edmonton Journal , May 15, 2010
>
> United Airlines has apologized to a blind woman from Vancouver Island who
> was abandoned on an empty plane in Chicago.
>
> Jessica Cabot of Courtenay, B.C., made headlines this week after she went
> public about being forgotten in an empty United Airlines plane on an April 7
> stopover in Chicago.
>
> The 18-year-old was waiting for flight attendants to escort her to a
> connecting flight to Florida when she heard the plane door seal shut. Ten
> minutes later two maintenance staff happened to find her on an unscheduled
> check of the plane.
>
> She panicked in the plane, calling for help.
>
> After a series of complaints, Cabot received a $250 airline voucher and the
> promise of an apology. Five weeks after her flight and a series of news
> stories later, she finally got one.
>
> "They just called," said Cabot, on the phone from Jacksonville, Fla., where
> she is visiting her fiance. "I can't even count how many times they said
> sorry."
>
>
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