Blind man booted from airplane, gets support from passengers

PHILADELPHIA -- A blind man was kicked off a U.S. Airways flight Wednesday evening after a squabble with a flight attendant over restraining his guide dog. The airline's action so infuriated the 35 or so other passengers that the flight had to be canceled.

Forty-nine-year-old Albert Rizzi, who told ABCNews.com that he flies every month and can't travel without his guide dog, said this is the second time in six months that he's had a problem on a U.S. Airways flight.

"The flight attendant wanted me to put my dog under the seat, and I did the best I could. A passenger even sat Indian style to make room for my dog Doxy," he said.

During the fracas, Rizzi said his fellow passengers "raised a ruckus" to express their displeasure with the way the flight attendant had treated him.

U.S. Airways passengers rally around blind man booted off flight

After he was escorted off the plane, Rizzi said he was very upset and while waiting to retrieve his luggage, he noticed other passengers had joined him from his plane, in support.

He claims his dog was under his seat as best he could but the stewardess was not satisfied and the both of them got into it. However, other passengers were upset with the stewardess too and joined in and chaos ensued. Finally the pilot said it was not clear to take off and had the man removed from the plane. Of course, so did many of the passengers that were witness to what happened and on his side.

The Bellport, N.Y., resident said he felt humbled by the actions of his new friends, who all boarded a bus together, chartered by U.S. Airways, to take them on a four-hour ride to their final destination, Long Island's MacArthur Airport. Passenger Kurt Budke, drove Rizzi home once they arrived in Long Island.

Budke said "The training of the dog was amazing. To say this dog couldn't be controlled is false. This dog was more controlled than the people on board," he said.

That was in response to the stewardess who claimed the dog was 'restless' and could not be controlled.
The dog was under the seat for 1 1/2 hours waiting on the tarmac before they ever took off.

Needless to say, the passengers stories vary with the stewardess' story.
And the Officials at US Airways said Mr. Rizzi was belligerent and the crew’s safety was in jeopardy, but other passengers said that isn’t true.

reply to post by snarky412


I imagine that if the man was "disruptive" and "belligerent" that other passengers would not have reacted and stood on his side the way they did. Obviously the attendant is lying, as is the airline.

Rockpuck
reply to post by snarky412

 

I imagine that if the man was "disruptive" and "belligerent" that other passengers would not have reacted and stood on his side the way they did. Obviously the attendant is lying, as is the airline.

Not to mention the grueling training that 'seeing-eye' dogs go through.
I have never seen a hyper, out-of-control 'assistance' dog....they go through months and months of rigorous training. So it's not like just some pet pooch off the street that he's got, although labs make terrific pets!!!!

They are my favs, being as we've had 2 yellow labs.
Very obedient when one takes the time to work with them.
It's been a couple of years since our last one passed & I'm due for another one any day now!!

reply to post by Rockpuck


The airline is going to cover their flight attendant, although obviously they didn't feel that everything was right or they wouldn't have covered a bus for them to get to where they were going.

reply to post by snarky412

Needless to say, the passengers stories vary with the stewardess' story.
And the Officials at US Airways said Mr. Rizzi was belligerent and the crew’s safety was in jeopardy, but other passengers said that isn’t true.

It sounds like the only person who was belligerent was the stewardess. The crew's safety was in jeopardy? Isn't that a standard line they use every time they have problems with a passenger. I think in this case, it was used to protect the crew from bad publicity and condemnation of the airline.

Plus , c`mon it`s a blind dude ...... you need to cut them some slack . I wouldn`t like being blind , but beig blind + stuck on a plane full of dicks bitching about your dog , nah ... i`d have gone with him too . I`d have helped the guy out all day long , carried his bags etc. , people who bully the disabled are a waste of oxygen and food resources .

reply to post by Zaphod58


They are obligated to provide transportation by law if a flight is canceled, or if a passenger cannot be on a plane for non-legal reasons (like I suppose unruly yellow labs). Just like they are obligated to provide hotel stays and meal vouchers for delayed flights. This was not the airline trying to be nice. If they were trying to be nice, they would have put everyone on another flight.

reply to post by Rockpuck


No, they could have gotten out of it if they really wanted to. They're not required to provide transportation if the passenger is removed from the flight for any reason. They're only required if the flight is cancelled.

There may not have been another flight that night so they put them on a bus instead.

It used to be a pleasure to travel by air carrier. Now it's an ordeal with TSA rudeness, cramped seating, planes that smell like chemical toilets and now apparently authoritarian crew.

If I had the time I'd take the train.

BRAVO to ALL the passengers that stood up, for, and by this man and his guide dog. I think flight attendants are getting a bit haughty lately but I am mightily happy to see PEOPLE sticking up for PEOPLE. It is a rare act these days and this article made my night just for that simple fact.

If we all did this every time we see an injustice done... then we would not be where we are now in so many different ways.

Kangaruex4Ewe
BRAVO to ALL the passengers that stood up, for, and by this man and his guide dog. I think flight attendants are getting a bit haughty lately but I am mightily happy to see PEOPLE sticking up for PEOPLE. It is a rare act these days and this article made my night just for that simple fact.

If we all did this every time we see an injustice done... then we would not be where we are now in so many different ways.

Boy, isn't that the understatement of the year!!!!

Except there is sooo much injustice going on right now in DC alone, we'd be standing up for a long, long time to come!!

reply to post by snarky412

It was nice to read about people stil willing to stand with another who was in a difficult situation and even help out.It gives one a bit of hope for society+humanity in general.

Raxoxane
reply to post by snarky412

 

It was nice to read about people stil willing to stand with another who was in a difficult situation and even help out.It gives one a bit of hope for society+humanity in general.

Amen to that.....

Sounds like the stewardess needs a 'Sensitivity' training class

reply to post by snarky412


I guess we won't be needing those hemorrhoid pillows anymore then....

We would never have to sit again. Truly.

give a petty person a little power and their head swells......these airline stewards are getting out of control....poor dog ...under a airline seat are these people kidding....wow....there is a sub class of human in the making and it is sad for all of us including our pets or in this case a service pet.....stories like these make me like people even less....although as other posters have mentioned a good bit of love from the other passengers who stuck up for this man and his dog.....

Sounds as if the stewardess was just inconvenienced and decided
to take it out on the blind man.
Full apologies are in order.

___________________

I seen a blind guy get on the bus once and accidently fully sit on a young teen girls lap. And the blind guy weighed like 300 lbs. He totally crushed her like a bug!!! It was so funny!!!!

reply to post by snarky412

Americans pick the weirdest things to protest.

Not saying that they shouldnt have done this but where are all the protests, mass demonstrations, sit ins, mass non-compliance over police violence, police strip searches, NSA spying, TSA groping, Obamacare, citizen watch lists, citizen kill lists etc...

This reminds me of how people take the word of a cop over someone who is not a cop. You have that many passengers stating one thing, therefore to take the word of a lone person is simply idiotic. The problem is stupid people in my opinion. There are too many of them. Some people are just mean to other people, plain and simple. This stewardess sounds like one of those types of people.