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Tiny turtle causes taxiing plane to return to gate
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ATLANTA – A caged, 2-inch turtle traveling with a 10-year-old girl caused a crew to turn around a taxiing plane, take the girl and her sisters off the flight and tell them they couldn't bring their pet along.
The sisters threw the animal and cage in the trash and returned to their seats crying Tuesday after AirTran Airways employees on the jetway said they couldn't care for the turtle while their father drove to retrieve it. Two days later, however, Carley Helm was reunited with Neytiri even though at first the family thought the pet was emptied with the trash.
Carley was heading home to Milwaukee after visiting her father in Atlanta with sisters Annie, 13, and Rebecca, 22, when the flap unfolded.
Rebecca said the three were led onto the jetway and told they'd have to get rid of the baby red ear slider — named Neytiri after the princess in the movie "Avatar" — if they wanted to reboard.
"I asked, 'What do you mean get rid of it?' and they said throw it away," she said. "I was very sad, and I felt bad for my littlest sister because it was her first pet and she was planning to take care of it herself."
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1- I thought this was going to be about an animal on a runway. I've had to wait many a time while taxing my planes in Southern Florida due to turtles on the taxiways.
2- Throw it away? A live animal? Odd response. If Air Tran doesn't want certain pets in the cabin that is fine, but "throw it away" seems to fail the common sense test...
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ABSOLUTE PROOF The airline employees TAKE WHATEVER THEY WANT OUT OF THE "GARBAGE" and take it home, they "rescue" stuff they want and HAVE THE POWER TO DEMAND PEOPLE must "get rid of" or forfeit their seat on a plane, WHICH IS A DIRECT CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ABUSE OF AUTHORITY.
I think the Airline employees are scum and trash, not the passengers who were "shaken down".
Stupid to turn the plane around though citing "salmonella" as a potential threat. Check the thread on drinking water from a/c lavs how safe is it to drink water from faucet in airplane lavatories? and then tell me if you're more concerned about the water on your flight or about a 2" turtle.
And cat poop can cause toxoplasmosis, arguably as dangerous as salmonella poisoning.. Is common sense really that hard to find these days?
Last edited by Kiwi Flyer; Jun 25, 10 at 3:12 pm..
Reason: merge consecutive posts
Stupid to turn the plane around though citing "salmonella" as a potential threat. Check the thread on drinking water from a/c lavs how safe is it to drink water from faucet in airplane lavatories? and then tell me if you're more concerned about the water on your flight or about a 2" turtle.
Smaller than a a bird cage, and people have been known to spread salmonella, too. And birds poop all the time and have been known to spread other diseases. But, if they allow household birds in cages, can I bring my chickens with me?
ABSOLUTE PROOF The airline employees TAKE WHATEVER THEY WANT OUT OF THE "GARBAGE" and take it home, they "rescue" stuff they want and HAVE THE POWER TO DEMAND PEOPLE must "get rid of" or forfeit their seat on a plane, WHICH IS A DIRECT CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ABUSE OF AUTHORITY.
You want to cite evidence of a single instance of a ramp worker rescuing a live animal from the trash as proof of what now?
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Originally Posted by SWCPHX
And cat poop can cause toxoplasmosis, arguably as dangerous as salmonella poisoning..?
Eat $%@& and die, huh?
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Originally Posted by greentips
But, if they allow household birds in cages, can I bring my chickens with me?
You want to cite evidence of a single instance of a ramp worker rescuing a live animal from the trash as proof of what now?
Real cute Ari. You, like the OP, edited out the important parts. He didn't include the part of the story where both the airline and worker confess to the employee taking girl's turtle out of the garbage TO TAKE HOME FOR THEIR OWN CHILD, after they wouldn't let them get back on the plane with it and they REFUSED to care for it till Dad came to pick it up. (They had NO Problem "caring" for it till they got off of work and could take it HOME!) You did not include in your quote that
I SAID GO TO THE OP LINK AND READ THE Whole story. THEY CONFESS. 'Nuff proof for you?
You can eat your own words, which I regard as equivalent.
Last edited by AINITFUNNY; Jun 25, 10 at 1:56 am..
smurf blue shirt - 15 dollars
official TSA badge - 8 dollars
being able to make 10 year-old girls cry any time you feel like it -- priceless
That needs to be your tagline.
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Originally Posted by Dovster
The TSA had no problem with the turtle and let it go through. It was the airline which objected.
Well, if you don't want to be blamed for every asinine event involved with air travel, stop hiring window lickers. Then perhaps your protests will be considered.
Real cute Ari. You, like the OP, edited out the important parts. He didn't include the part of the story where both the airline and worker confess to the employee taking girl's turtle out of the garbage TO TAKE HOME FOR THEIR OWN CHILD, after they wouldn't let them get back on the plane with it and they REFUSED to care for it till Dad came to pick it up. (They had NO Problem "caring" for it till they got off of work and could take it HOME!) You did not include in your quote that
I SAID GO TO THE OP LINK AND READ THE Whole story. THEY CONFESS. 'Nuff proof for you?
You can eat your own words, which I regard as equivalent.
While I don't support what the Flight Attendant did, you are creating a conspiracy where I don't believe one exists. There is no evidence in the article that the ramp employee said to the FA: "Tell the little girl she has to throw out her turtle, so that I can get it out of the trash and pass it to a third employee to take it home for their child."
What I presume happened is somthing more like this: ramp employee finds turtle in trash - thinks "How could someone do something like that to a poor, innocent turtle" or even "my employer is cruel and heartless to force such a thing to happen" and rescues poor little turtle. Now, having rescued the turtle, that employee must now figure out what to do with the turtle, when another employee says, "my daughter would love to care for the turtle."
It is bad enough that the FA (on the airline's behalf) made a stupid decision. Let's not try to over-inflate the situation to one of silliness.
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Quote:
Rebecca Helm called their father, and he began driving back to the airport. She asked an AirTran employee to make arrangements with her father to look after the pet until he could get there, but the employee refused.
This is the part that bothers me the most on the part of the oldest sister. I completely understand why the employee refused to find someone to look after the turtle...why waste someone's time and take them away from their job to look after a pet? Does this girl also expect someone who works for Target (for example), to look after her dog if an employee tells her that dogs aren't allowed in the store (the only exception being trained service dogs of course)?
If they were THAT concerned about the pet, the oldest should have said, "Okay, let's get off the plane, wait for Dad and take the later flight. We can call Mom and explain."
And PETA? Really? These girls didn't HAVE to throw the turtle in the trash. They were given the option to be on a later flight (at no charge)...so because of your daughter's decision to break airline policy and, at the same time, not use their common sense, you're going to get PETA on their case?
I guess it's true...common sense has died a horrible, painful death and no one seems to care.
__________________ Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. ~Malcolm Forbes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AINITFUNNY
You, like the OP, edited out the important parts.
I didn't edit out a thing. I complied with the FT TOS that allow us to post the first few paragraphs. The link to the original article was supplied right after the highlighted text for those that want to read the entire article.
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If there is a news article or other piece of information you'd like to share from the web, credit the source of the information and/or give a brief two- to three- paragraph recap of the news and provide the appropriate link to the source.
