Posted on 07/12/2007 9:10:39 AM PDT by Abathar
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- A Georgia mother said she wants answers and action after she and her baby were kicked off a plane.
Kate Penland said she was glad to board the plane in Houston to visit her father in Oklahoma after an 11-hour delay. But she said a rude and aggressive flight attendant caused her to get to Oklahoma a day late.
Penland thinks her 19-month-old son, Garren, has a bubbly personality. But Penland said when they were aboard a Continental Express plane, a flight attendant became annoyed by Garren's personality when he kept saying three words.
"As we started taxiing, he started saying, 'Bye, bye plane,'" said Penland. "At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up.'"
In disbelief, Penland asked the woman if she was kidding. It was then, Penland said, the flight attendant went too far.
"She then said, 'You know, it's called baby Benadryl.' And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland said.
Penland said when the other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, the flight attendant got angrier and soon announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.
"I was crying, I was upset and I was thinking, 'What am I going to do? I don't have anything with me. I don't have any more diapers for the baby, no juice, no milk," said Penland.
The mother said she later learned the flight attendant told the pilot that she had threatened her. Penland said that never happened.
Express Jet Airlines released a statement that said, "We received Ms. Penland's letter expressing her concerns and intend to investigate its contents."
A fellow passenger told Atlanta TV station WSB that none of the other passengers had problems with Garren and that Penland never threatened the flight attendant. Penland said she is considering legal action.
I’m taking a survey: Do you have kids? :-)
Having had to put up with many children with a ‘bubbly personality’ on airplanes, in restaurants, and generally in public it is ‘about me’.
I find it ironic that many who complain about other peoples actions in public, take smoking for example, don’t seem to believe that other find the ‘bubbly personality’ of their children to be just as obnoxious.
Perhaps you’ve never had the joy of a transatlantic flight with a ‘bubbly’ three year old kicking the back of your seat the entire eight hours? Or, having their parents explain that they can’t do a thing with the little darling? Having seen these things, I have a tendency to side with the flight attendent. And, quite frankly, until I hear some testimony from the other passengers, I don’t have a tendency to believe the mother statement that the other passengers weren’t annoyed. One simply doesn’t turn a plane back to the gate on the whim of a flight attendent. Do you have any idea what that costs an airline?
Leni
By the way, FOX reported that the child was repeatedly interrupting the stewardess’ safety speech. It sounds as though the mother thought it was cute. The stewardess disagreed. I think that the fact that the kid was big for his age and may have been perceived as older than he really is, may have contributed to the disagreement.
Now, this is the problem. On small Express Jets, there are no screens so the FA has to announce all of the safety instructions herself including the oxygen masks and pointing to the exits. He had to have been loud enough to interrrupt her safety speech. Let’s remember that they were in ROW 3 and the lady who said he wasn’t loud was in the LAST row.
I wonder how mom will feel if her son doesn’t want to be quiet when he is in school or during a fire drill. After all, if she thinks it’s cute to do it during a safety speech on the plane, she shouldn’t act shocked if he will not behave when there is a fire. He’s going to be really confused and wonder why he has to follow directions and shut his mouth. I hope he never goes into the airline or medical fields.
As far as kids with disabilities, most parents are smart and do not impose their children on the rest of us if they’re having a tough day.
OK, so you believe the mother threatened the flight attendant?
Regardless of whether the kid and the mother were acting badly, the fact remains that, according to all published accounts, the flight attendant lied to the pilot and said she had been threatened. My take on this is that the flight attendant wanted the woman off the plane but she and her son had not done anything to warrant that action, so she simply lied.
“I think that the fact that the kid was big for his age and may have been perceived as older than he really is, may have contributed to the disagreement.”
That happens alot as well.
I know.
My son is gigantic for his age. On top of that we’re undergoing testing to see if he has autism? Asperger’s? Or possibly CAPD syndrome.
What I do know for sure is that he looks 2-3 years older than he is. Academically he is where he should be. Behavior-wise/emotionally/socially - he behaves about 2 years younger than he is.
The net result...I don’t get out much.
From the accounts so far, it was the flight attendant having a tough day. Maybe she shouldn't impose her nasty attitude on the flying public--although after this incident, she probably won't have to worry about it.
“As far as kids with disabilities, most parents are smart and do not impose their children on the rest of us if they’re having a tough day.”
I know you meant to ping me...that’s ok.
And where did you see in my post that I thought disabled kids should be imposed upon you?
If I remember correctly - I stated I am resigned to the fact I will not be flying for a long time because I know I will run into people like you.
And as you clearly are not dealing with a disabled child on a daily basis...let me tell you - EVERYDAY is a tough day.
And we DO occasionally need to get out for groceries, gasoline - that sort of thing.
So again...my point is that before people assume the worst about a parent - maybe they should try giving the benefit of the doubt.
I didn’t make the statement in reference to this particular case though....
This sounds like a flight attendant who came up with a quick lie to get the pilot to turn around.
The flight attendant cost folks a lot of money and time. The kid interrupted a spiel from the flight attendant. Mmmm, who was more disruptive?
And, a bad day? Too bad. She is paid to deal with it. The mom and kid paid for her time and her respect along with the flight. JMHO of course.
I agree with that opinion.
I know the stewardess is an idiot and should be fired for turning the plane back. I can’t imagine how stupid you would have to be to put a customer off the plane after she waited 11 hours for this flight. This is a PR nightmare.
I hope the dumb broads union or she will be getting her walking papers.
For the record the tot in question was only 19 mos. Not 3 yrs. old and if you had children you would understand the age disparity between the two.
BTW I suggest if you don’t like the joys of public transportation that you either go first class or charter your own plane from now on. ;^)
Since both of us have been posting on the forum for nine years and I can't ever remember posts to or from you before, it won't make any difference to me whether you and I get along just fine or not. If you perceive the tone of my posts as judgmental there's not much I can do about that. You started in with comments about my tone and about some alleged tendency of mine to not just disagree but to denigrate anyone who expressed a different opinion after I had made three posts on this thread (other than two joke posts that surely couldn't have been setting you off). Compared to a lot of posts on this thread -- both by defenders of the flight attendant and defenders of the mom -- my comments have been pretty diplomatic even when expressing disagreement.
If you are in fact referring to other threads where I have previously included value judgements on the other person's opinions (of course technically if you express an opinion about another opinion aren't you making a value judgement about that opinion by definition?) perhaps you could cite an example.
That is very interesting that a passenger sitting right behind the child on the plane is on record stating that the flight attendant’s action was ludicrous.
This article, previously linked in post 279, includes comments from other passengers, including one sitting three rows behind the mom and toddler, who says the flight attendant's action was "ludicrous".
Excellent point!
Btw, click here for a newer thread about the video with the mom and toddler. Freepers are responding as if the video proves the little guy is some sort of monster. I say he's a typical 19mo boy who doesn't want to sit on mommy's lap for an interview. She's doing her best to control him.
Look, just forget it. Isn’t it enough that you referred to my opinion as a “knee jerk opinion”, when in fact, I was right, and you were wrong.
Yes, two that I love very much, and I asked our pediatrician and his reply was that under a doctor’s supervision it is ok to give small children the appropriate dosage of benadryl.
Where do you consider my rights to end and yours or your child's, to begin?
That question is too vague. The question should be more specific: Do you think you have the right to force a mother to give her 19 month-old medication to stop him from saying, "Bye, bye, plane"? Those words are so disrupting to you that a small child should be drugged asleep so that you don't have to hear them?
You are avoiding answering a legitimate question.
The question should be more specific: Do you think you have the right to force a mother to give her 19 month-old medication to stop him from saying, "Bye, bye, plane"? Those words are so disrupting to you that a small child should be drugged asleep so that you don't have to hear them?
As far as I could tell from the story the FA never attempted to force the mom to give her child any medication. Also, Fox News has been carrying reports that the child on several occasions interrupted the FA's giving of the safety instructions.
From the mom's use of the word, "bubbly" to describe her child I strongly suspect that the child was doing more than simply in a nice sweet baby voice, saying "bye, bye, plane". Back that up with the child's behavior on GMA, and one just has to suspicion that there is more to the story than is being told.
But at any rate at well over 300 posts I think this thread has become tiresome.
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