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

[Domonique Lawless]

Listers,

Let this be an example of why we need organizations like the NFB. If
this were a perfect world then she would have had the skills to get
herself off the plane, the airline attendants wouldn't have forgotten
her, and all blind people wouldn't look useless because of this bad
press. Needless to say, this is not a perfect world. There are
countless blind people who still need training in alternative
techniques and their are countless numbers of sighted people who need
to learn that just because we're blind doesn't mean we can't think or
walk. Let a story like this empower you instead of discourage you.The
NFB is working to ensure through training and education that something
like this doesn't have to happen anymore.

Best Wishes,
Domonique

On 5/15/10, Serena <serenacucco at verizon.net> wrote:
> I agree with Darrel.  Although the teen ideally should've tried to get off
> the plane by herself, ideally is the operative word.  If I were flying
> alone, I probably wouldn't even know which way to turn once I got off the
> plane.  I wouldn't just sit there, but I might also need help.
>
> Serena
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Darrell Shandrow" <darrell.shandrow at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 9:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fwd: [Members] Airline apologizes for forgetting blind
> teen
>
>
>> 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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>>
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