Dog Dies On United Flight After Passenger Forced To Put Carrier In Overhead Bin
Well, today United Airlines is in the news again for bad press.
This time, not for beatings of Dr. Dao, but for the death of an innocent dog. United Flight 1284 from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport to New York’s LaGuardia Airport was rocked by the tragic accident, for very obvious reasons.
A flight attendant “pushed” the pet owner to put her small dog in the overhead bin. The dog was in a TSA-approved pet carrier and contradicts the carrier’s policy, which states in part: “Pet traveling in the cabin must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel. The kennel must fit completely under the seat in front of the customer and remain there at all times.”
Unfortunately, this is not a first for this company. United Airlines had the highest record for pet deaths among U.S. airlines in 2017 and 2016. In 2017, a total of 18 pets died and 13 were injured among 138,178 total pets transported by United Airlines.
A spokeswoman for United said the airline is conducting a full investigation into the matter.
“This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin,” she stated. “We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.”
Passengers have voiced their concerns online, as seen below.
R.I.P Papacito
I just flew into LGA and witnessed a United flight attendant instruct a passenger to put her dog bag in the overhead bin. It was clearly a dog and while the customer was adamant about leaving it under the seat, the attendant pushed her to do so. (1)
— MaggieGremminger (@MaggieGrem) March 13, 2018
Myself and a fellow passenger felt like that was NOT a thing. I am not a flight attendant tho. Maybe they have air ventilation in there that I didn’t know about. I tried googling rules about pets on board but didn’t have ample time before takeout. (2)
— MaggieGremminger (@MaggieGrem) March 13, 2018
At the end of the flight, the woman found her dog, deceased. She sat in the airplane aisle on the floor crying, and all of surrounding passengers were utterly stunned. (3)
— MaggieGremminger (@MaggieGrem) March 13, 2018
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