Girl allegedly molested on Delta flight (Freep a Poll)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 10/11/07 | D.L. BENNETT

[Sopater]

An 11-year-old Alabama girl flying alone from San Diego to Atlanta says a man slipped into the empty seat beside her and sexually molested her on a crowded Delta jet.

The disturbing charges were made public in a lawsuit filed last week in Fulton County State Court could make parents think twice before placing any unescorted child on a bus, plane or train. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Delta, with more than 1,000 flights a day leaving Atlanta alone, estimates it carries thousands of unescorted young fliers a year.

Savannah lawyer Mark Tate, who is representing the family, said the girl, whose name was withheld in the lawsuit, was traumatized by the incident.

Although the girl reported the incident to her mother when she got off the plane, Tate said no criminal charges have been filed and no suspect identified. The mother took the report to Huntsville police, Atlanta police and eventually the FBI.

"Delta has a very high burden to meet in protecting passengers," said Tate. "We feel Delta didn't meet that. This little girl is not doing well. It's caused severe problems."

Airline officials refused to directly address the charges in the lawsuit.

[Shimmer]

I don’t know if it’s my children’s personalities or the way I raised them, or both, but my kids just don’t fall for stuff like this. They’d have raised the roof of the plane if someone tried to touch them.

[DManA]

Good question. You pay a surcharge when a minor flies alone. What do you get for that money?

why wasn’t a flight attendant with the child?

[GoShow]

Flying (Conair) aint what it used to be...

[Fairview]

I let my child fly back and forth to see her grandparents starting when she was about that age. If any man had tried to touch her inappropriately the whole plane would have watched while she took her big heavy riding boots and jumped up and down on his face. No one messes with her, then or now.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Indeed, I suspect there is a bit of fiction to this story. Our son flew NW Airlines to meet grandma a dozen times. The airline staff always placed him at the front of the airplane where they could keep an eye on him. I don’t believe Delta would do anything different.

[xjcsa]

On other airlines with unescorted minors, they are placed in a segregated row; no adults allowed.

So what, if there aren't enough unaccompanied minors to fill a row, they leave an adult or two standing at the gate and fly with the seats empty? No airline has such a rule. Many of them have seats that are set aside for kids traveling alone, but those are released on the day of travel to anyone who wants them if there aren't kids in them.

[xjcsa]

Good question. You pay a surcharge when a minor flies alone. What do you get for that money?

why wasn’t a flight attendant with the child?

The flight attendant can't stay next to the child for the entire flight, although they should be checking on the child regularly. They money charged for the service is for the extra labor needed at the airport and for the, ahem, liability involved.

[Nervous Tick]

>> She just sat there and let it happen? I suppose that’s possible but something doesn’t sound right.

I think it’s unlikely in any case that someone would get away with this... more likely on an /uncrowded/ flight, actually.

Plus, it’s not like they don’t know who was in the seat next to her! And it’s not someone who changed seats — the flight was crowded, remember?

My BS meter is reading at the high end also. I think it’s yet another money grab by yet another slimeball lawyer.

[xjcsa]

*The* money charged...not sure where the ‘y’ came from.

[trimom]

That one struck me. I have done that flight (more often than I want to count....) and it’s just not that long for much to happen “repeatedly”.

I’m just saying.....

[meanie monster]

My son, now 18 has flown to Orlando alone since he was 14. We had to pay an extra fee to have him escorted by flight attendants. There is no excuse for this. When he arrives to his destination they check the ID’s of his his grammie and pappie. They were very strict about it. This is SouthWest btw.

[Scythian]

There is a poll on the website asking if you think it's safe for children to fly by themselves.

HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE, OBVIOUSLY, THIS GIRL BEING MOLESTED MEANS IT'S NOT SAFE, IT SHOULD ALSO POINT OUT HOW MANY PREDITOR'S THERE ARE, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. HOW COULD THOSE IDIOTS VOTE YES, IT'S SAFE?

[DManA]

Since the customer pays for the airline’s liability insurance, we shouldn’t feel bad when the customer makes a, ahem, claim.

[ariamne]

Well come and trundle me off to the hoosegow then.

I let my pre-teen daughter fly alone to Florida, where she was met by aunt and uncle. She flew Southwest, and I met with the flight attendant whose care she was in, who allayed my fears by assuring me she would not leave my child's side until she deposited her into her aunt's arms. Emily sat with the flight attendant in the bulkhead row. I must confess, I'd have second thoughts now though. Still, don't be so quick to judge.

[johnny7]

Not buying this story at all.

Sounds like somebody wants a big payday...

[popdonnelly]

This is an awful thing to happen to the child, but how is Delta supposed to stop perverts from flying?

[TankerKC]

There was one named “Dotty” on the Washington/National - Newark shuttle, I’ll never forget her...

I think I saw that movie. Cue the soundtrack...Boom chaucka chaucka waa waa!

[Shion]

I’m finding this extremely hard to believe.

I first flew alone when I was nine years old (made my connection through Dallas/Ft. Worth on my own as well, thank you very much) and even at that age I wouldn’t have put up with that kind of nonsense for a flat second.

If there’s ever a time for a kid to scream bloody murder that’s it.

[NYFriend]

First off, it’s not SAFE to do much of anything. It’s dangerous to fly, more dangerous to drive, and dangerous to send your kids to school. Even having kids is dangerous (the the mother). Nothing is SAFE. I believe it is SAFE ENOUGH to let an 11 year old kid fly alone. Air travel is very safe, both in terms to transportation accidents, and the danger of abduction or assault, because there are lots of people around whose job it is to keep it safe (including flight attendants). To the extent that this story is accurate, it is highly unusual, which is why it make the news. For every child or woman this has happened to, hundreds have flown safely. All of this can be reduced to a game of odds, risk, and severity of injury.

There are things people can do to reduce their chance of harm. If you wear a seat belt on a plan, you greatly reduce your risk of in flight injury. If you yell when a stranger touches you in appropriately on a plane, you greatly reduce the risk you will be sexually assaulted.

I’m in no way blaming the victim, but when I was a kid, I was told to yell for help and run away if I was in danger. There must have been at least three or more flight attendants on that plan, and plenty of passengers who would have come to this girls rescue if she yelled for help.