Posted on 09/05/2012 6:09:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A California family says they were kicked off a cross-country American Airlines flight because their 16-year-old son has Down syndrome.
Joan and Robert Vanderhorst, of Bakersfield, Calif., said they intend to sue American over the "humiliating" incident at Newark Airport, in which they were told their special needs son posed a "flight risk."
"It's defamation," Robert Vanderhorst told the Daily News. "It's a violation of his civil rights and its defamation."
Joan Vanderhorst pulled out her cell phone and started recording the incident on Sunday in which Bede is seen quietly playing with his hat and an American Airlines official warns that she was prohibited from filming "in a security-controlled area."
At one point, Port Authority police were even called on the confused family.
"Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. That's what's so shocking. He's usually our good luck charm. Good things usually happen when Bede is with us," Vanderhorst said.
Bede and his parents had been in Jackson, N.J., visiting family and were eager to make the long return flight home. On a "lark" they had even upgraded their seats to first class, shelling out an extra $625 dollars.
"My wife said, 'oh Bede's never flown first class,' he'll be so excited."
Vanderhorst said Bede, a freshman in high school, has flown "at least 30 times" through his life and has never caused any trouble.
Nothing was different before Sunday's flight, he said. Bede was sticking close to his parents and was not acting unruly, nor was he upset.
But as the family waited to board, an American Airlines official pulled them aside and said the pilot had observed Bede and didn't feel safe allowing him on the plane.
Joan Vanderhorst quickly snapped on her video camera and can be heard sobbing. "We are being singled out," she said. Robert Vanderhorst, an attorney, calmly pleads with the airline official. "He's behaving. He's demonstrating he's not a problem."
The agitated American Airlines employee instead called Port Authority police to escort the family away from the gate.
"It was horrible, humiliating. We were treated like criminals…One officer even told me to call our congressman and report the pilot," Vanderhorst said.
He said the pilot's name was recorded as Jeff Hickey.
"He never came out, he never interacted with my son," Vanderhorst said.
But American Airlines stood behind its decision to remove Bede from the flight, telling the Daily News on Tuesday that boy was "agitated" in the waiting area.
"Asking the family to take the next flight was a decision that was made with careful consideration and that was done based on the behavior of the teen," the airline said.
"Our customer service team worked with the Vanderhorst family and the EWR [Newark airport] team, as well as the crew, tried to get Bede comfortable. Unfortunately, the crew determined he was still agitated."
The airline said it did not have any complaints from other passengers observing Bede's alleged "agitation."
Vanderhorst said he has spoken with his attorneys about a lawsuit, accusing the airline of violating Bede's civil rights and the Americans With Disabilities Act.
"My son cannot defend himself," he said. "I expect that American Airlines will not give their pilots the ability to discriminate against anyone; gay, black disabled," he said.
The family's trip home deteriorated even further when they were loaded into a full United Airlines flight and placed in the very back row.
"For a second time, we were discriminated against. Segregated."
For his part, Bede, took the incident in stride.
"He got on the plane and was waving hi to everyone," his father said.
Go post on democratic underground.
Seriously, I don’t want to get in a pissing match with anyone, but lib trolls like you only serve to cloud the debate. You’re either for safety or you’re not, and if you want to stand behind “federal laws” that’s your choice. I find it rare that the “federal government” gets anything right, but I’m sure you left wingers disagree.
No he doesn’t
Show me the FAA reg that says he does.
You won’t find one.
A ship is on the high seas outside of any jurisdiction.
Domestic flights never leave US Airspace.
Big difference.
Left winger?
Hardly.
Just a cultured gentleman who has to show his contempt for knuckle-dragging troglodytes who probably dropped out of high school and never made more that $40K a year.
Oafs who pop off to their intellectual superiors aren’t really worth the time of day, but I’m not the only one here who has taken you to task for your toxic ignorance and caustic personality.
Son of the American Revolution my eye. Washington, Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton were all gentlemen of refinement, and would have looked down their patrician noses at the pedestrian likes of you.
“The pilot in command is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of the flight.” I can give you chapter, verse, and paragraph, it is in there.
This has been challenged and upheld every time.
There's a clue in this quote somewhere...Hmmmm...
I’m not buying this family’s story at all. A 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome can be a very large person, and if “agitated” could indeed be disruptive if not inadvertantly downright dangerous. That pilot sounds like the kind of pilot I would want (if I flew on planes).
I’m not buying this family’s story at all. A 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome can be a very large person, and if “agitated” could indeed be disruptive if not inadvertantly downright dangerous. That pilot sounds like the kind of pilot I would want (if I flew on planes).
I noticed the same thing. It tipped me off that this family is very likely a pack of liberal Democrat scumbags.
“United look good. That in itself says a bunch!”
==
My son and his family flew 10,000 miles on United for their vacation this year. It was a horror show going and coming back and they said never again.
If you want to take a shot across my bow that’s fine. I’ve been shot at before, with live ammo, to preserve the rights of both of us. But let me ask you this, and please answer yes or no:
Should a pilot have the power to exclude someone from their flight? If you were “Emperor” would you allow a pilot to single out the next Mohamed Atta, or should the PC police ensure that Mohamed gets a seat? Do you tr of trust the gut instinct of the individual who is our last line of defense, or not?
I ask you this without denigration of your educational attainment or income. Yes.....or no?
No. Its not his job.
His job is to fly the damn plane and arrive on time.
What I’ll grant you we do need is to start screening passengers the way El Al does. They’re track record at stopping things and maintaining flight security is sterling.
Plus whenever I fly, which is a horrible experience being treated like cattle, I assume there’s an armed Air Marshal aboard.
They’re-their/
I hate effing autocorrect.
Good for the pilot. If the pilot doesn’t want someone on the plane, that’s good enough for me.
I used to fly AA exclusively. Never again....and boys and girls, I rack up a lot of miles in my work.
Good, and thank you. :)
Do you want your children on a plane with someone who makes a professional pilot uncomfortable? I do not.
I think that is what it is about...elitism. It’s against the law to discriminate against the handicapped. The beautiful people have to put up with the imperfect people.
She sure does know how leftist union members view handicapped children. They want them dead.
Actually, it's just ignorance. People are afraid of things they don't understand. My wife is handicapped. Cerebral Palsy. When we were first married we worked together on a daily newspaper in S. Texas - there was a critical need for blood locally - we went to donate a pint. The person signing us in to donate blood wondered why my wife used crutches to get around. She told her it was due to CP from birth - they refused to let her donate blood. We walked out and she was upset and crying by the time we reached the car. The pilot in this story was probably thinking of the safety of his other passengers but he was also ignorant of the effect he had on an innocent passenger and his family. My wife and I have been married now for 36 years. We publish a real estate magazine in central Texas. ;o)
Well, under the law, the airlines is not permitted to discriminate against handicapped people and their families. Leftists don’t want handicapped even born because they don’t see them as humans worthy of life. American Airlines has been into harrassing people they don’t like politically or socially. They were aggressively rude to Glenn Beck last week, too. I’d use a different airline. They are too ignorant to be flying planes.
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