A mother from Oregon is taking legal actions against United Airlines after they were asked to depart the plane. The reason for getting kicked off was due to someone on the plane allegedly feeling "uncomfortable" with her autistic daughter's presence, according to NBC News.
Dr. Donna Beegle was going home with her family after a trip to Disney World when her daughter, Juliette, started to get agitated. The child got hungry in between the layover to Houston and refused to eat the food served by the flight attendants, according to News.Com.Au. Beegle then asked the flight attendant for food off the first class menu, noting that her daughter is picky with her choices and has a hard time communicating what she wants.
However, the flight attendant refused this, citing that the Beegles were in the economy class. Juliet's meltdown continued. The crew complied eventually, and as her mother had always known, Juliet calmed down after her meal and proceeded to watch a movie in her quiet corner on the plane.
The next thing Beegle heard was an announcement that they were going to take an emergency landing in Salt Lake City. Once there, airport police boarded the plane and asked Beegle and her daughter to get off.
"Well, the captain doesn't feel comfortable flying to Portland with your daughter on the plane," Beegle related the conversation the police told her in the same News.Com.Au report. It should be noted that flying isn't new to Juliet, as her mother said she has been going to trips with her since she was a 6-month-old baby. Beegle posted the whole ordeal on her Facebook page, remarking that the incident highlighted a "sheer case of ignorance."
"The parallels between special needs and poverty are striking in that both are causes for judgement, misunderstanding and mistreatment," she stated.
Meanwhile, United Airlines released a statement to several news outlets defending the actions of its staff. "After working to accommodate Beegle and her daughter during the flight, the crew made the best decision for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and elected to divert to Salt Lake City after the situation became disruptive," the statement disclosed.
Another passenger who talked with the press said that Juliet was howling in her seat. "What if she got crazy and got up and opened an exit door at 36,000 feet?" asked Marilyn Hedlund in an interview with KOIN 6 News.
This was negated by the doctor, who said that she asked the rest of the passengers if Juliet was bothering them. In fact, the police told her, "You have a lot of people supporting your claim that nothing happened and your daughter should stay on the plane."
Beegle is still pressing on with the suit, saying that it's necessary for the United Airlines staff "to receive training."
