Group of deaf students escorted off plane...

Huh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Sorry, on a serious note....

Not sure what the regs are in the UK, but this would be a disaster over here. ADA would already have this thing locked into about eight different lawsuits. Basically, there IS no reg in the US governing pax with disabilities. I know you have to notify the airline 24 hours in advance, so the travel agency dropped the ball on that one. To me, it sounds like the airline knee-jerked their reaction by kicking the kids off, and now they are scrambling for some kind of explanation.
 
I was thinking the same thing when I was reading this article. Try that over here and we would have a million different lawsuits a day later.
 
Some trial lawyer from NYU or Columbia would be all over this one in a second and win some eggregious sum. Although in this case i side with the disabled pax, there's no threat posed by them and no reason to deny boarding. Maybe the logic is if there is an accident they won't be able to hear crewmember commands?
 
I just checked my old manuals, and the only thing I could find related to a situation like this would be that they would not be able to sit in an exit row. (That being because they do have a disability.) However, just the fact that it was a group of deaf people should not, in and of itself, prevent a group from being accomodated.
 
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I wonder why the flight crew decided to just kick them out like that??

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Power trip...happen to alot of people with a uniform.
 
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Maybe the logic is if there is an accident they won't be able to hear crewmember commands?

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As long as the crewmembers are facing them, they could probably "hear" them better than I could. Most of the deaf people I know can read lips extremely well. To me, they would have an advantage over a crowd of screaming, paranoid passengers.
 
That's rediculus. I hope someone sues the pants off of them for that. Plus, lets be honest, if you see a bunch of people charging towards an exit, smell smoke or see flames, it's not that hard to figure out to follow the people and get the fudge out of that plane. plus it's not like they can't read the emergency card and know what to do.

Those poor kids, how embaressing that would be. I hope the airline gives 'em some free tickets or refunds their money!
 
Let's not forget that the Pilot in Command has final authority as to who rides the aircraft.

Before we start throwing lawyers at them, remember that you all want to be where they are some day.

Wouldn't it be worse if they had an accident and the deaf students could not properly follow instructions shouted at them? Who would you sue then?

I'd like to hear more about this story before passing judgement at random.
 
So, then, John, you think that deaf people shouldn't fly? Sure sounds like that is what you're suggesting. How about blind people?
 
I saw the UK news item on this on TV and Iberia's response:
1. The airline should have been notified in advance
2. Iberia claimed that the children should have been accompanied by hearing adults, that could communicate in sign. For the group size they said 2 adults were required.

This leads me to believe that either somehwhere in European, Spanish or UK regs. there is a specified requirement OR within Iberia's owm policies.

Iberia DID apologise for the inconveniance, put the group up in a London hotel AND flew them out a day or so later once hearing/ signing adults were available to accompany the group.

My view: If there had been an incident on board, the group would have been safer with hearing/signing adults around them.

On other points: Once when I was taking a holiday on a hired narrowboat on a canal in the UK, a boat ahead of us was manned by a group of deaf children. Not wanting to slight them, but on several occasions they broke rules of the waterway: 1. refused to share locks; 2. closed lock gates where there were instructions to leave them open - this was overnight and caused a flood.

In my view they were not totally safe, and had generally failed to make themselves aware of the situations they were in. Do that on a plane, in an emergency, with no one who can hear and interprate instructions and you've got a major problem on your hands.

PLEASE NOTE: I have nothing against deaf people, but if they are going to be independant, they also have to be safe!!
 
Okay, I'll buy the "notice in advance," and there probably is a clause with Iberia. Makes sense. HOWEVER, I don't think you guys are thinking this through. How many deaf people do you know? Not "oh, that guy that lives down the street is deaf." How many of your friends are deaf? Personally, I've known several. If the FAs are looking at them, they could be whispering or shouting. Those deaf people are gonna know what they are saying. They've had several years (and some of them their whole lives) to adjust to a soundless, voiceless environment. To say they won't be able to follow instructions just because they can't hear and there's no one around that can sign to them is just ignorant. It's like saying blind people walk into walls because they can't see, or people in wheelchairs can't play sports because they don't have the use of their legs.

So, while I agree that if a policy was in place that the airline should have been notified about a larger group with a disability, I do NOT agree with what a lot of you are saying about an emergency situation. If the airline booted them because of that reason, then that appalls me. If they denied boarding due to an airline regulation that wasn't followed, then I support that. I haven't heard both sides totally yet, so I'm not condemning the airline or the passengers.
 
Exactly. A couple of weeks ago, I was out in a club that was very loud. There were some deaf people there, and I guarantee you that they were able to communicate far better than I could!

I'm not jumping on either side here, but to say that deaf people constitute a safety hazard isn't something that I want to say.
 
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If the FAs are looking at them, they could be whispering or shouting. Those deaf people are gonna know what they are saying.


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I hate to get into this, BUT.... what if the cabin were filled with smoke and the deaf people were unable to hear the 1MC?
 
I check my manuals too and they just can't sit in the exit row. I'm sure that if there was an accident they would the usual frivolous lawsuits. As far as the def people go I'm sure they could follow the line to the exit.

Also we just had a large group of Special Olympic particpants, with varying disabilities, fly on my plane without a problem. I am sure if we had to evacuate it would have been an absolute nightmare.

You just can't restrict people from flying because they are handicapped. How are they supposed to get from A to B in a resonable time. They have every right to travel by air as anyone else. Just don't sit them in an exit row and you are not in violation of any reg or policy. So your butt is covered...
 
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If the FAs are looking at them, they could be whispering or shouting. Those deaf people are gonna know what they are saying.


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I hate to get into this, BUT.... what if the cabin were filled with smoke and the deaf people were unable to hear the 1MC?

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If the cabin were filled with smoke they wouldn't be able to see someone speaking to them in sign either.
 
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So, then, John, you think that deaf people shouldn't fly? Sure sounds like that is what you're suggesting. How about blind people?

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In an exit row seat? Emphatically no!
 
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In an exit row seat? Emphatically no!

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And they are talking about the exit row where?
 
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