[Nfbmo] Blind woman removed from Springfield flight

Tue Oct 9 20:28:18 UTC 2012

Blind people on planes, oh boy,

I am going to make this brief.

I use a monocular to read signage in airports. Ever since 9/11 the use of a
monocular in an airport has been an issue. I have had several TSA officials
approach me in various airports asking me what I was filming. I identify
myself as legally blind and they want further proof and blah blah blah. So
I get out the ID card and we have a chat. They say I am good and off I go.

Sooooo,
now I carry my white cane in the airport no matter if I think I need it or
not. I poke that thing out in front of me and cruise through the airport
and go through security where they let me go through with the cane and then
pat me down afterwards. But no more questions about the monocular. They
obviously know I can see well enough to put my shoes in the bin and remove
my laptop from it's case. But as long as it keeps them from asking me about
my monocular. I am fine.

As far as boarding the plane. I take a lazy American stance.
If I fly Southwest Airlines I buy the more expensive fare that allows me to
board first and choose whereever I want to sit in a virtually empty plane.
Plus I get two free drinks. Which I usually give away to whoever is sitting
around me.

For the assigned seat flights I get on the plane. Stare at the aisle
numbers and do the dance everyone else does when they find their seat.
Although I have my "seat bag" separate from my "bin bag". So I have my
books and toys with me when I sit down, and don't have to figure out where
all my stuff is. Once I get to the airport I shove my coat, gloves, and hat
into my checked luggage, so I don't have to carry it around with me in the
airport and find someplace for it on the plane.

I don't like drinking in strange places anyways, becauase Alcohol although
wonderful impairs your senses. If you are handicapped. You need all the
senses you can find. If your a bit tipsy. you might appear more incapable
than normal. Especially if your tipsy and can't form full sentenses so
well. I keep this in mind whenever I am in a strange city or environment.
Especially if I need to find a way back to where I am staying. I enjoy
myself but stay mindful of my environment.

Matt Sievert

On Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 8:47 AM, Gary Wunder <gwunder at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I do not know Laurie, but I do know Megan O'Rourke. She had her cane taken
> from her on August 8 while traveling to Springfield. The airline has now
> confirmed for her that this was against regulations, but when you are
> actually in the situation, there is no question that the captain and the
> flight crew are the people in charge. The airline is now offering Megan a
> free flight and an apology, but what is needed is a more systemic approach
> to addressing the problem. If there is a way for us to contact Laurie, we
> should do so and try to get her side of this.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Horchem Gary
> Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 7:26 AM
> To: nfbmo at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbmo] Blind woman removed from Springfield flight
>
> October 01, 2012|by Linda Russell, lrussell at ky3.comSPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- A
> West
> Plains woman says she was wrongly and rudely de-planed from a flight
> departing from Springfield.  Laurie Reeves Goss is still shocked she was
> removed by Allegiant.  She thought it was a misunderstanding about her
> disability, but an Allegiant report gives a completely different reason.She
> was California bound for her daughter's birthday. "And see my
> grandchildren,
> which I hadn't got to see in two years it took me to save up for this
> trip,"
> Laurie says. But Laurie can't actually "see" her grandchildren.   "They
> said, when people are talking to you, look toward their voice," Laurie
> says.
> It's how she was trained after going blind. Using her cane, just as she has
> for more than 15 years, and boarding the Allegiant flight to Los Angeles,
> Laurie asked a flight attendant to guide her to the restroom.  "She said,
> you need to put that away!  And I said, I will after I am seated, but I'm
> going to the bathroom and I've got to get back to my seat," Laurie
> says.Laurie says she also questioned a flight attendant about her window
> seat, and then asked a fellow passenger if she'd like to trade.  "I said,
> I'm impaired visually, and it's a waste of a view," says Laurie.Laurie says
> they traded seats and settled in, and that's when a crew member approached.
> "Miss Reeves, do you have your cane?  And I said, yes, I do.  It's right
> here in my sheath.  And he says, can you unbuckle your seat belt and come
> with me?" Laurie says.To her surprise, Laurie says she was led off the
> plane
> and placed in a wheel chair.  Laurie says she was told the crew felt she
> was
> a threat to others, but she wasn't told why."I was in shock.  I was scared,
> and I was devastated.  I didn't want to be in a wheel chair, because it was
> demeaning to me to begin with," says Laurie.Laurie says she was pushed
> outside to wait two hours for her ride back home. Allegiant filed a report
> about the incident.AdvertisementJessica Wheeler, an Allegiant spokesperson,
> says "The passenger was being disruptive to the other passengers around
> her,
> and unfortunately, I do not have specific details about exactly what
> disruptive means.""I didn't understand what the heck I done wrong.  I never
> raised my voice.  I never cursed," Laurie says."When flight attendants
> tried
> to address her, she appeared extremely intoxicated and smelled of alcohol.
> She was combative to the flight attendants, and it was at that point that
> the flight attendants made the judgement call to remove her from the
> flight," Wheeler says.Laurie says she bought two drinks at the airport bar
> during her two hour wait, but claims she was never combative or drunk.
>  "I'm
> imbalanced, because I have one eye worse than the other.  I did not feel
> intoxicated at all," says Laurie."Obviously, this is a judgement call.  Our
> in flight crew is trained to make these calls," says Wheeler.Though she's
> flown blind for years, being kicked off the plane has left Laurie shocked
> and feeling mistreated.  "I'm scared to get on a plane again by myself,"
> Laurie says.Allegiant says their flight crews make decisions as a team, and
> passenger and crew safety are their biggest concerns.  The airline has
> refunded Laurie's money, but she says that's not enough for what she was
> put
> through.Watch the video interview:
> http://www.ky3.com/videogallery/72654535/News/Blind-woman-kicked-off-plane
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