Blind man, service dog kicked off US Airways plane; passengers object, flight cancelled. - Polidicks

[QUOTE]US Airways is investigating an incident in which a blind man and his service dog were removed from one of its planes at Philadelphia International Airport. [...] Albert Rizzi, who is legally blind, was told his guide dog had to stay under the seat in front of him during the flight. But Rizzi says after passengers waited more than an hour to take off, the dog became restless and curled up under his legs. Rizzi said the flight attendant then informed him the dog had to be under a seat or the plane would have to turn around. US Airways says Rizzi became verbally abusive, and that other passengers became argumentative, sparking safety concerns. Passenger Frank Ohlhorst described what happened. "When we, the passengers, realized what was going on, we were, like, 'Why is this happening? He's not a problem. What is going on?'" said Ohlhorst. "And we all kind of raised our voices and said, 'This is a real problem.' The captain came out of the cockpit and he basically asked us all to leave the aircraft." [...] The flight was eventually cancelled.[/QUOTE] [quote]US Airways says its investigation is continuing, but released the following statement: [I]US Airways transports more than 80 million customers each year and ensures that all customers, including those with disabilities, are treated with dignity and respect. We're particularly sensitive to those customers who travel with service animals since we partner with Assistance Dogs International (ADI), an organization that trains and places assistance dogs around the world. US Airways employees volunteer to travel with and work with assistance dogs in training to help them prepare for travel with disabled partners. Over the past 10 years, US Airways employees have participated in transports everywhere from California to Croatia. In this instance, Mr. Rizzi became disruptive and refused to comply with crew member instructions when the flight attendant asked him to secure his service dog at his feet. As a result of his disruptive behavior, the crew returned to the gate and removed Mr. Rizzi and his service dog from the flight. The flight eventually cancelled and we transported Mr. Rizzi, his service dog, and the rest of our passengers on the flight to ISP by bus. We apologize to the customers of the flight for the inconvenience. We are continuing to investigate the incident.[/I][/quote] [url]http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9325216[/url]

Dawkins was right

I'm not sure of the specifics but the dog probably has to be under the seat for safety reasons. The airline can't be expected to ignore safety regulations just because the passengers are rowdy. Further, the article says the man became "verbally abusive" towards the stewardess. Not exactly the best way to solve a problem.

[QUOTE=Explosions;42863943]I'm not sure of the specifics but the dog probably has to be under the seat for safety reasons. The airline can't be expected to ignore safety regulations just because the passengers are rowdy. Further, the article says the man became "verbally abusive" towards the stewardess. Not exactly the best way to solve a problem.[/QUOTE] US Airways says he became verbally abusive in the statement they released. The article is quoting that.

[QUOTE=Explosions;42863943]I'm not sure of the specifics but the dog probably has to be under the seat for safety reasons. The airline can't be expected to ignore safety regulations just because the passengers are rowdy. Further, the article says the man became "verbally abusive" towards the stewardess. Not exactly the best way to solve a problem.[/QUOTE] I have so much sympathy for the airline company who thinks it acceptable to practically hold people hostage on the tarmac for an hour.

[QUOTE=NuclearJesus;42863981]US Airways says he became verbally abusive in the statement they released. The article is quoting that.[/QUOTE] These airlines always try to steer themselves of fucking blame in these cases.

[QUOTE=NuclearJesus;42863981]US Airways says he became verbally abusive in the statement they released. The article is quoting that.[/QUOTE] This is not an excuse to kick someone off a plane because of their special needs

[QUOTE=Laserbeams;42864110]This is not an excuse to kick someone off a plane because of their special needs[/QUOTE] He's not saying it is, he's clarifying what the article was saying

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;42864202]He's not saying it is, he's clarifying what the article was saying[/QUOTE] But US Airways are saying it's an excuse

[quote]Albert Rizzi, who is legally blind[/quote] So is it possible to be illegally blind

[QUOTE=Complifused;42864372]So is it possible to be illegally blind[/QUOTE] Yes, when you're not legally blind. The act of not being legally blind makes you illegally blind. Because you're not. edit: this is a joke.

[QUOTE=Complifused;42864372]So is it possible to be illegally blind[/QUOTE] Legally blind means that you have a paper from doctor that confirms you are blind. Since it's not trivial to determine if somebody really is blind or just feigns it, there's distinction between legal blindness which the doctor has to confirm and people who just claim to be blind. Without being "Legally blind", nobody has to give you the benefits legally blind people are entitled to recieve.

ninja

[QUOTE=Complifused;42864372]So is it possible to be illegally blind[/QUOTE] If a doctor confirms that your vision is either nonexistent OR poor beyond the threshold of being considered "blind", then you are legally blind.

Regulations are regulations. They should review them, but nothing the airlines did was wrong.

That's great that the other passengers stood up for him, I would have said something in that situation too. I'd like to know how the dog's proximity to a pair of feet is a "safety concern" because I'm just not seeing it.[QUOTE=Complifused;42864372]So is it possible to be illegally blind[/QUOTE]I'm illegally blind. Fuck the police.

[QUOTE=Complifused;42864372]So is it possible to be illegally blind[/QUOTE] claiming blindness for disability benefits when you're not blind

The dog was not blocking the walkway? I dont see a problem. Some people getting funny about my mums hearing dog I think its fucking stupid, If its not causing any harm go away.

The article shows a full grown lab as his service dog. How the hell he fit underneath the seat in the first place is beyond me. Of course the dog doesn't want to stay there.

Somehow the title made me think the plane was in air at the time of the incident and it was confusing :v:

Under his seat or under his feet? What does it fucking matter? As long as it isn't going anywhere else, which I doubt it was.

I'm sure the dog is better trained and suited to act during an emergency than most of the passengers.