After her flight home made an emergency landing and authorities removed her family from the plane when she and the flight crew had problems finding her autistic daughter something to eat, an Oregon woman said Monday she plans to sue United Airlines.
Donna Beegle, said her 15-year-old daughter Juliette, hopes a lawsuit would give lessons for the airline employees about dealing with people with autism.
“This is about a few, simple accommodations,” she said pointing out that her daughter can be a picky eater and sometimes lashes out if she doesn’t get what she wants.
However, the airline said flight crews did make special concessions for the girl but ultimately, “made the best decision for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and elected to divert to Salt Lake City after the situation became disruptive.”
The family is on a May 5 flight home from a trip to Disney World. Beegle said her daughter turned down the food the family had packed.
When her daughter requested for a hot meal, Beegle said, she purchased a chicken sandwich and asked for it to be warmed in a microwave.
Beegle said the crew refused telling the sandwich would get soggy. When she told the flight attendance that her daughter is near to tantrum and that she could scratch someone, about 40 minutes the crew got her daughter a hot serving of jambalaya.
However, she was surprised when an emergency landing was announce and they were removed, booked on another flight.
On Monday, the airline refused to specify whether the flight was distracted because of a perceived threat, the discomfort of other passengers or some other reason.
The airline wouldn’t specify Monday whether the flight was diverted because of a perceived threat, the rattle of other passengers or some other reason.
Though some passengers have said they didn’t think the girl’s behavior was disruptive enough to divert the plane, Marilyn Hedlund said she thought the flight crew did the right thing.
Hedlund added that the girl had been “wailing” during the flight.
The crew “did everything in their power to calm the situation, including getting her hot food from first class,” Hedlund said. “It wasn’t just a snap decision.”
H/T: Inquirer.net; and photo.