Why Flying Now Can Kill

http://www.washingtonpost.com ^ | 10/14/07 | A.L. Bardach

[BCrago66]

I am haunted by the death of Carol Anne Gotbaum.

I didn't know the mother of three who died shackled to a bench in the Phoenix airport on Sept. 28, en route to an alcohol treatment center in Tucson. I don't know, beyond what I read in the newspapers, what troubles weighed on her. But I do know this: Based on my own recent flight experiences, hers was a death foretold.

[Marie2]

That’s an interesting article about the crummy policies of US Air, but I still can’t blame them for the woman’s death.

[NonValueAdded]

Oh please. We must do everything possible to accomodate the mentally ill lest they throw a fit to get their way? In the case in point, she was evidentally too busy at the bar to be in the gate area the required 10 minutes before departure. Thus, her reservation was cancelled at that time and she had no right to a seat.

At the same time, Congress and the MSM constantly slam the airlines for their delays (and not without reason in some cases). Will they grant an exemption to airlines that have to reopen a plane in order to accomodate a passenger that cannot be there on time for whatever reason? There is no way the airline is at fault in this case. They did everything they could to accomodate her short of causing a delay for all the other passengers on that flight.

[donna]

I was recovering from a health problem, so I asked my husband to accompany me on the trip.

You're looking for Christian charity in a country that now has contempt for Christians.

[BraveMan]

According to the article she was at the gate 25 minutes prior to departure, yet was denied a seat on an overbooked flight even though sympathetic passengers were willing to give up their own seat . . .

[proudofthesouth]

Wasn’t she drunk when she checked in at the gate and exhibited psychotic behavior?

[SteveMcKing]

Then she was entitled to a refund, and perhaps should have been offered a hotel room and free ticket to anywhere.

There was no injustice done except in her own behavior.

[BCrago66]

I’d say the family has a wrongful death case against the airport authority which cuffed her and left her to die in a holding room, particularly when it was alerted to her medical condition. That case will likely be settled.

I’d agree that USAir cannot be held responsible, but they do deserve approbation for their crappy overbooking policy, which makes this kind of tragedy possible. I’m going to avoid that airline, and I’ll think twice before using services like Priceline.com, in which you don’t know what airline you’re booking until after your card is charged.

[Squantos]

Contempt of an low life asshat airline attendant compounded by a hissy fit from a pissed off passenger is always bad news........for all involved.

[NonValueAdded]

According to the article she was at the gate 25 minutes prior to departure

Well, that's different from what I recall about prior reports but even granting you she was there 25 minutes prior and someone was willing to give up their seat, the airline is still bound by certain rules and a delayed departure was likely. Remember, if you are not on the plane, your luggage cannot fly without you. To make the change, they would have to unload the bags of the person giving up the seat, even if she assented to fly without her luggage, assuming she had any. (and how could an airline get it to her? perhaps declare it freight at that point?)

[Tomato lover]

Thank you for posting this piece. After reading this excellent article, the whole incident takes on a different light. I hope the Gotbaum family takes US Air/Mesa to the cleaners and drives them out of business. What happened to that poor woman is unforgivable.

This only confirms our resolution not to fly.

[GoShow]

US Airlines is the Worst Airline period. There overbooking and foul treatment of passengers is legion. I can blame them (in part) for the womens death. Lets hope they get sued so bad its puts them out of business, we’d all be better off...

[USMCVet]

This article has resonance with some of my own recent experiences with airlines - particularly US Airways: late flights, overbooking, insensitive and discourteous support personnel, lost baggage. It used to be that you paid your money, you got your reservation, your boarded and you flew. Now you pay your money, get your reservation - and you may or may not fly anytime soon. They can do whatever they want to maximize profits.

Now we find that if we get upset with the situation, they could call the police and get you dragged off in manacles..

We need to stand up to this and all other cases where we find ourselves paying for abusive treatment instead of honest travel. I for one will never again travel on US Airways or Mesa.

[Mark was here]

They should over book the printing of paychecks for the Airline employees. Lets gust say that 10% of the employees will get their check at a later date to be determined...

[Mercat]

Last November, I went to my oncologist on the 7th, was told that I was not going to die and left the next day for Disneyland with my daughter and granddaughter. I was one week into recovery from surgery. I planned on it being an ordeal and it was but because I had expected that craziness, I was able to deal with it. I’ve flown USAir. The airline on this trip last November was AA. I had some complaints but again, I was in as stable a state of mind as I could be. I planned on it being insane, didn’t check any luggage, made sure that there was plenty of time between connecting flights and arrived early. Maybe it was because of years of traveling by Greyhound bus as a child and college student since my dad worked for the company. My dad always said that airplanes were just glorified busses. Actually, they are even worse in some ways. So, again, airline travel is something to be endured, not enjoyed.

[BCrago66]

Maybe I should short USAir stock, and give the proceeds to the Gotbaum family. But that gesture wouldn’t bring back their loved one.

[Vigilanteman]

I'm with you. Just because it is printed in the Washington ComPost doesn't necessarily mean it is a lie. For years US Airlines held our local Pittsburgh Airport hostage because they were going to cancel flights, remove their hub and lay off thousands of employees unless the taxpayers in the region granted them certain subsidies.

Each year, they would up the ante. Finally Allegheny County did something really risky and actually elected a Republican as county commissioner. He persuaded one of the Dems on the commission who wasn't totally dense on economic issues to join him and say "enough!".

US Air delivered on their threat, pulled their hub and layed off thousands of their staff. They went from controlling maybe 70% of all departure gates then to around 30% now.

So the Pittsburgh area lost most of their airline service and the airport closed down, right?

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Actually, Southwest, TransAir and slew of other airlines moved in to fill up the gap. People who used to fly to Cleveland for flights now leave from Pittsburgh. And fares have dropped by an average of nearly 40%. Who would've thunk it?

[CaptainK]

That’s the first I’ve heard about Gotbaum being at the gate 25 minutes ahead of time.

But the author of this piece is a Castro loving conspiracy lover. There are conspiracies all around her. Airline people, a woman she doesn't know, Elian Gonzales and the crazy Cubans in Miami..

Check out her book “Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana”

http://www.amazon.com/Cuba-Confidential-Vengeance-Miami-Havana/dp/0385720521/ref=sr_1_1/104-6259070-7555941?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192383785&sr=8-1

[Tomato lover]

You're looking for Christian charity in a country that now has contempt for Christians. You are so right and on so many levels that it is chilling to consider. I imagine not one of the people who dealt with this poor soul had the love of Jesus in them. On another subject, some of the posters have criticized her for being upset at the gate. From reading the article, I see she had been bumped already from the previous flight. She had reason to be 'tense.' Perhaps she had a premonition? Before I read this article I, also, was guilty of judging her harshly. For this I am sorry.

[KTM rider]

[quote]Still, she was denied her reserved seat on the 1:30 flight. Nor did they allow her to board the next flight at 2:58 -- which, of course, was also overbooked. Finally, Mesa's counter personnel refused to let willing passengers switch with the clearly distraught Gotbaum. When she began to weep and protest, they called the police, who handcuffed her arms behind her back and dragged her away to a holding cell. They left her chained alone to a bench, crying inconsolably. Not long after, she was found dead, the chain shackling her to the bench stretched across her throat[/quote]

There is a lot more evidence that she was murdered by airport police, than there is that her behavior warranted the death penalty for having a medical/mental condition.

I had an ex wife who had a disorder diagnosed as Hystrionic personality disorder, an incident like this would set her off in a similar way. However crazy her behavior was, it did not make her deserving of being choked to death in an airport holding cell.