While we appreciate the pilot’s concern for the other passengers, we still think he was overcautious.
We’d hate to be thrown off a plane for sniffles… but then again, we’d hate to sit next to some chick coughing up a lung for 10 hours.
It’s really a matter of whose shoes you put yourself into, and whether they’re filled with mucus. — BEN POPKEN
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How can anyone disagree with this decision? She couldn’t BREATHE for a brief period. Suppose it had gotten worse while in-flight? Do you realize how long it would have taken to find a runway, land, get an ambulance and get her help if they were going over, say, Nebraska? If that had happened, then the entire flight would have been hours behind schedule. He did what’s best for the passenger and passengers.
As a pilot, what would you do if all you knew was “there’s a passenger that can’t breathe?”
It’s a crappy situation for the girl and her teacher, but he did what he needed to do with the information he had.
I just think this is ridiculous. When you choose to fly on a commercial airplane, you are taking the risk that, due to be in a confined space with recirculated air for many hours, you might end up becoming ill. I’ve ended up with a cold or stomach bug a few times after flights, and on none of those flights do I recall anyone coughing excessively or doing anything to indicate they were sick.
The girl didn’t have fucking TB. And all this “OMGZ what if she has a seizure/heart attack/exploding brain during the flight” crap is so over the top. She was coughing. It does not necessarily mean something wholly worse was going to happen. So now people will have their travel plans screwed with because they just might possibly have a chance of maybe being sick? Fuck that. I’m more worried about people who don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom…
@homerjay:
I wholeheartedly agree. You have a girl who is coughing, and not just coughing, coughing uncontrollably. Either you kick her off like he did and deal with the consequences, or
You keep her on board, all the whilst knowing she could be carrying something contagious that could put the whole passenger cargo at risk. So the question he had to ask himself self-consciously, is which one is correct?
Well, since 9/11, this guy has probably been taught to be safe or sorry. And he’s absolutely correct. It is a split second decision, and I feel sorry for the girl, but if you think about it he did the right thing.
I wonder if others have mentioned this already but, Wow! Spending your hard-earned spring break money in NYC or DC? I guess it’s what people that live in Paradise see as different and fun?!?
Cancer kills more people EVERY DAY than died in the 9/11 attack. Ten times more Americans kill themselves every year than died in the 9/11 attack.
So please stop wasting time spreading the John Doe “we’re frightened little girls” meme. It’s effective only on true cowards.
@jendomme: I see that the real problem is that you have some grudge against the medical profession. No, I don’t trust someone simply because they have a title attached to their name. And no, I’m not going to trust the opinion of a RN for a medical diagnosis. But there’s a reason doctors need to spend 10 years in schooling/training before they even begin their practice. I, for one, trust the opinion of a MD. They sure know a lot more than you or I possibly could, this goes for the pilot as well. Fact is that you’re going to encounter sick people in your daily life. You are more likely to catch a cold from germs on a doorknob or your keyboard than from someone sitting on a plane. Why live your life in fear of something bad happening? In the grand scheme of things, catching a cold doesn’t really seem too bad.
GHS writes:
“A quick note…I once flew from South Africa to London seated next to a fat guy who hacked/couched/sneezed and spat all (13 hours)the way…(in first class no less)…A few days later I was in a London hospital with pneumonia…two weeks later, still unwell, I happened to check with the airline and discovered that most of the people in the compartment suffered the same fate…”