The Not-So-Friendly Skies: 15 Shocking Airline Incidents
After a United Airlines plane was delayed on the tarmac for two hours in June during a heat wave, an infant on board reportedly overheated, going limp in his mother’s arms. The baby was briefly hospitalized, and United apologized.
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A passenger with multiple sclerosis asked a four-person crew to help her off a plane at Heathrow Airport, but just two people arrived, according to The Sun. The two men dropped her on her head when they were unable to carry her off the plane on their own.
© Belinda Castle
After a woman carrying a baby couldn’t find a place to stow her stroller in April, an American Airlines flight attendant allegedly wrestled it from her hands, hitting her with it in the process and barely missing the child. American apologized, put the woman in first-class on another flight, and suspended the employee.
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A healthy, three-foot rabbit named Simon was en route from England to the Iowa State Fair to compete for the title of World’s Largest Rabbit when he died on the journey in April. Lawyers for the investment group that had purchased the rabbit allege that the hare died after being placed in a freezer after landing in Chicago.
© Damien McFadden
A labor dispute with Spirit Airlines pilots in May led to several cancelled flights, which led chaos and fights at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The fights ended with three arrests.
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United Airlines refused to allow two teenage girls onto a flight because of their leggings. The airline said that girls were flying as part of the company travel perk program, which reportedly has requirements that they look “neat and professional” while traveling.
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Although she had reportedly paid more than $1,000 to purchase a seat for her two-year-old son on a United flight from Honolulu to Boston, a mother was forced to keep the child on her lap for the entire flight when flight attendants gave away the child’s seat. United apologized for the July incident and reimbursed the passenger, claiming that there was a mistake when scanning the ticket.
© Shirley Yamauchi
In April, United Airlines attempted to boot a doctor from an overbooked plane. When the doctor refused to give up his seat, American forcibly dragged him from the flight causing multiple injuries that required hospitalization. The passenger and United settled for an undisclosed amount.
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A passenger on a United flight from Houston to Calgary was reportedly eating his lunch when a scorpion fell from an overhead bin and landed in his hair. Flight attendants captured the creature and flushed it down the toilet, and United later apologized and compensated the victim.
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A flight in China had to be delayed for five hours in June when a woman was reportedly seen throwing coins into its engine. She told authorities that she was throwing the coins as prayers for good luck.
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A 36-weeks pregnant women reportedly gave birth on a 30-minute Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas in July. The baby, who was given free flights every year through his 21st birthday, arrived before the plane could make an emergency landing in New Orleans.
© Spirit Airlines
A passenger on a Delta flight from Atlanta to San Diego was reportedly bitten multiple times in June by a dog allowed in the cabin as an emotional support pet for a veteran. The injured passenger was taken to the hospital, and the dog owner flew on another flight with the dog travelling in a crate.
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A Japanese airline reportedly forced a paraplegic to pull himself onto a plane with his arms, after barring fellow passengers from helping him onto the flight in his wheelchair in June. The airline has since apologized and installed equipment to help disabled passengers get onto its planes.
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A French-speaking woman missed an English announcement about her gate change for a flight from Newark to Paris and ended up on a flight to San Francisco instead. The flight attendants reportedly didn’t notice the discrepancy when she was boarding the flight or when someone was sitting in her assigned seat. United apologized for the error and paid for the woman’s lodging in San Francisco.
Jana Asenbrennerova / Reuters
When two women at the Atlanta airport got into a fist fight in April, a Delta airlines pilot grabbed one of the women and hit her. Delta reportedly suspended the pilot and investigated the incident. No charges were filed.
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters