Posted on 11/16/2013 4:45:04 AM PST by JoeProBono
PHILADELPHIA, A US Airways flight in Philadelphia was canceled when passengers became outraged about a blind man and his seeing-eye dog being kicked off the plane.
Albert Rizzi said flight attendants removed him and his dog from the Wednesday flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, N.Y., because the dog became agitated during a delay on the tarmac, KYW-TV, Philadelphia, reported Friday.
"What I'm concerned about is that there are a tremendous number of individuals in the disabled community who might not have the stamina, the strength, the confidence to stand up for their rights and speak out against these types of ridiculous perceived rules," Rizzi said.
Passengers spoke out in support of Rizzi and his dog.
"Blind man and his dog just got kicked off @USAirways after we've been on the tarmac an hour, bc dog wiggled a bit. Whole plane outraged," one passenger tweeted.
A US Airways representative confirmed the incident.
"On Flight 4384 from Philadelphia to Islip, Long Island, a customer with a seeing-eye dog was asked to keep his dog near his feet when the dog was walking up and down the aisle," the representative said. "The protocol for service animals is to keep them at foot of the passenger, or under the seat, as they are considered extensions of the passenger. When a flight attendant asked the passenger to keep the dog where it needed to stay for safety reasons the passenger got verbally abusive. A decision was made to return to the gate to take the passenger and the dog off the plane. At that point, other customers were unhappy about the situation. The crew did not feel comfortable operating the plane so a decision was made to cancel the flight and US Airways bussed the passengers to Islip, N.Y."
The representative said an internal investigation is being carried out.
Although it is reported that the man became “verbally abusive”, the behavior of the other passengers tells me different. Had they witnessed such behavior, they would not have all walked off the plane in solidarity—they would have been glad to see him go. In general, people are not supportive of rude behavior.
You should hear from someone other than an airline spokesman before believing this. When they say an attendant asked him to control his dog, that says nothing about the tone of the “request,” or the actual words used. And “verbally abusive” can be code for “refused to accede to our demands.” Until we hear from other passengers who heard this conversation, I don’t trust the airline’s version.
When a plane is on the tarmac for 1 hr...you tend to want to move...regardless of being trained or not...K9’s are going to be a bit apprehensive and may need to walk a bit - and since it was sitting on the tarmac (which I had the same experience waiting for fuel for 2.5 hrs in the dead of winter @ JFK) — who cares — it’s a lab - probably the MOST lovable K9 ever in existence! Per the owner getting irate - from Long Island - sure, that’s culture up there - plus - his dog wasn’t doing anything...I bet once the plane began to move and take off for the 30 minute flight north - he would have laid down...geez...
It’s okay for a a group of Arabs to get on a flight - yell scream - lock themselves int eh bathroom - and the flight takes off...no problem there....but a golden lab...welcome to Obamanation!
Here is what happened IMHO
The crappy airline delayed the flight and parked the plane on the tarmac for over an hour while telling all passengers to SHUT UP! TURN OFF YOUR IPHONE!
I imagine everyone was frustrated sitting on their hands.
Dogs don’t understand this bullcrap,the passengers barely understand this crap,and so the doggie got up and wandered around.
At that point I imagine that passengers were happy for a visit and a therapeutic pet.
The flight crew yells at the guy to get that dog under control.
The blind guy does his best, but it is an odd situation with lots of stimulus for the dog that is out of the ordinary.
They yell at the owner again.
He snips back
The Dog sniffs the flight attendants panties
CALL THE AUTHORITIES!!
GROUND THE FLIGHT!!
Now, I wasn’t there obviously, but I have a hard time understanding how a blind man and a service dog could cause this kind of trouble.
I can see the man being upset about the delay but no more than anyone else on the plane. No one else uttered anything?
The dog? Call me all kinds of simple, but, I’ve never encountered an unruly service dog. Sure, they are still dogs after all, but a big part of their training as service animals is about their personality and actions. Unruly, unreliable dogs don’t make it out of service animal academy to my knowledge. One cannot trust in a unreliable animal for their safety and, thus, they don’t get used.
Their’s something else to this story.
LOL!!
It is true!
Mine is 9 now, and still a major doofus and lover LOL
Those paws are HUgh and SeRies!
Yep! As she moves through the house you hear, ‘Ouch, Ahhh, Dang!’ LOL
Mine plays the paws game too.
“The protocol for service animals is to keep them at foot of the passenger, or under the seat, as they are considered extensions of the passenger.”
Translation: The Dawg sniffed the flight attendants panties.
That pissed her off when she was in Hitler mode.
I understand her side of it, she is tasked with keeping discipline, but baby.. please!
While sitting on the tarmac? You’ve got to be kidding.
Oh wait, I might have been hasty. Did the dog have a picture of a miniture gun on his collar? Now that would violate the zero tolerance rules on firearms. Maybe he was wearing a “Don’t tread on me” bandana.
That is terrifying!!
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