Tiny turtle causes taxiing plane to return to gate
 

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...

Ciao,
FH

Reason 4,723 for not ever flying AirTran.

GO to the link to the original article, folks.

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".

How big of a cage do you need for a 2" turtle?

Stupid to turn the plane around though citing "salmonella" as a potential threat. Check the thread on drinking water from a/c lavs http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...avatories.html 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?

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?

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?

Eat $%@& and die, huh?

Why not just mail them: http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/601.htm#9_0 see 9.3.4

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

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.

The TSA had no problem with the turtle and let it go through. It was the airline which objected.

(My apologies for letting a fact interfere with your accusations.)

That needs to be your tagline.

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.

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.

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? :rolleyes:

I guess it's true...common sense has died a horrible, painful death and no one seems to care.

Apparently the turtle was returned to the girls:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36740125...28514#34328514

Maybe they wrapped the turtle in saran wrap to prevent the spread of salmonella. ;)

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.
http://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#q91

Cats and dogs can carry rabies, probably have greater success of getting out of their carriers, and by their size, pose more danger than a turtle the size of your thumb. The AirTran spokesperson is the one citing salmonella after the fact. It wasn't the FA who insisted the turtle couldn't be on the flight. No matter what the policy, their reaction to the situation makes AirTran look stooopid and needlessly cruel.

Umm...AirTran offered to let the sisters wait for their father to get back to ATL, hand off the turtle and then take a later flight...how does that make them look "stoooopid and needlessly cruel"? It was the oldest sister who decided to throw the turtle in the trash can and continue about their travels instead of waiting to ensure the turtle was given to their father and then take a later flight.

They are kids, trying to deal with adults. Adults who do not care about them or care for them. How well do you think teenagers, and younger, rationalize? How about the adults in this situation? It didn't sound like AirTran explained the options fully. Nor did AirTran make much effort to find a solution. The girls didn't know enough to ask questions that would help them in this situation. AirTran people acted like robots that cannot think for themselves but can only follow certain procedures. That two FAs on the same flight can't even agree shows me that in this situation they were stooopid and needlessly cruel. Cruel to the turtle: exceptions can be made to allow it on the flight (as the first FA apparently did), the "care" required by the turtle could simply have been placement in a staff room until the father was able to get back to the airport and retrieve it - how much "care" does the turtle actually need that they couldn't find some AirTran employee who could help? Cruelty to the girls in not making a effort to explain the situation and find a solution to help, we're talking Children, here. If cargo was an option, which it clearly was, since that's how the turtle got returned to the girl, why not place it in cargo on that flight or have offered to do it for the next flight. As for stooopid, inflicting needless cruelty and not being compassionate adults, these actions make the airline look stupid in the eyes of many in the public. Stupid, also, that the employees couldn't think of a solution to avoid the embarrassment of the public scrutiny and bad press this has now generated.

:confused:
22 is certainly an adult (in age if not in wisdom or maturity, it would appear)

My bad, I didn't read the story that was linked here, I read it on-line elsewhere and stumbled on this thread. The other posted story listed the girls in age order with Annie, 13; Rebecca, 12; Carley, 10. Even with a 22yo in the family, the airline employees still probably have a bit more experience than the girls do with travel.

Even with rules, people can and do make exceptions. This wasn't going to be "Snakes On A Plane" after all.

I was allowed to check a bag that was 25kg when the weight limit is 23kg. The TA warned me, but nothing more. (Odd though that the bag was weighed at the hotel as 22kg before I left for the airport. I only purchased a bottle of water and it was in my hand.)

This one I dont get. :confused:

People travel with animals all the time. I have even seen a few birds go through the WTMD, no cage. Dogs fly in the passenger compartment all the time, so whats the big deal about a 2 inch turttle in a cage? :(

Maybe it was the .45 he was packing? :D

$8 dollars, is that what a box of cracker jacks cost now?

tiny turtle? isn't there a song about that?

Hold me closer tiny turtle
Count the headlights on the runway
Lay me down in cans of trash
you had a busy day today

Hmmm, I actually read the story, did you?:rolleyes:

From the story:
(emphasis mine)

Air crew, not TSA. DOH! :td::td:

You really should read. TSA did not do this.

ValueJet

I have to agree-- common sense 'aint so common nowadays.

What the poster to whom you are responding is accurate-- just not applicable to this story . . . ;)

no, but there are probably, as we speak, a tribe of them trying to work out how it got past them, how they did not think of doing this first, and how they can change (make up) procedures to ensure it does not get past them ever again...:D

This is a mind-numbing breakdown of common sense.

First off, a turtle that tiny does not pose any danger to anyone on the plane - I could understand a FA being concerned about a large turtle, since they can bite and if another passenger's baby stuck their finger in the cage, it could result in a serious injury. But to have a plane that's already taxiing return to the gate over a turtle that tiny is just ridiculous.

And no, I'm not buying the "salmonella" argument - yes, theoretically the turtle can carry salmonella. But can so humans. And as long as the turtle remained in its cage and no one handled it, the salmonella danger to other passengers would be pretty much zero - they'd have more risk from employees at the airport's eateries not washing their hands after handling uncooked chicken.

Honestly, if I was a passenger on this flight and found out that my flight was delayed because a FA threw a hissy-fit over a turtle half the size of my iPhone, and the captain actually went along with it, I'd be firing off a nastygram to AirTran HQ.

However...technically, the crew was correct, the turtle was not on the list of approved cabin animals. Foolish, but theoretically correct. Okay, go back to the gate.

But now it gets worse.

The plan returns to the gate, the girls ask AirTran staff to hold the turtle so their dad can come get it, but the AirTran staff says "no, there's no one to watch it."

Why do people get turtles as pets? One big reason is...wait for it...turtles are very low maintenance! As long as the cage was the right size and the turtle couldn't get out, the cage could simply be carried out to the check-in counter and set to the side for a few hours until the dad got there. No "care" required, turtle's happy.

Instead, the girls - who are probably already on the receiving end of Stares of Death from other passengers whose flight has now been delayed - get told they can either wait for another flight, or ditch the turtle. (That was apparently technically suggested first by one of the girls, but it was certainly implied already.) So the girls reluctantly throw the turtle away, if for no other reason than they want to get home and don't want Mom to have to wait at the airport for a later flight.

Next a nice AirTran employee rescues the little guy and gives him to another employee to take home to his kid. (Only AirTran employee with any common sense in the story.) Father gets to the airport - no turtle in the trash.

Now we get to the part of the story that's missing: how did the airline conveniently "discover" the turtle had been rescued from the garbage? I picture a PR flack in Atlanta either (a) seeing an early version of this story with the turtle presumably smushed in a trash compactor, or (b) hearing about it internally in some way, going "Holy crap! We look like absolute morons here!!!" and launching the Search for Neytiri. AirTran then "ships the turtle as cargo" back to the little girl in a last-ditch effort to limit the PR damage.

And the airline industry wonders why it's held in such low regard by the American people... :rolleyes:

Actually, if the girls had any knowledge of airline procedure, they would have just claimed Neytiri was a "Emotional Support Turtle" and told the FA to live with it. :-)

Actually, since I believe the power to determine what animals are or are not allowed in the cabin lies with the airline, I'd imagine TSA is sitting back and going "nope, not our problem." And, for once, they'd be right.

sadly, this forum lacks a specific sarcasm font...

If you were trying to be funny you failed miserably.

If i read the article correctly, this is an FAA regulation that no reptiles are in the cabin. So Airtran is just enforcing the policies that they should be following in the first place.

Also, if you look, its Illegal to purchase or sell a turtle less then 4", why is no one asking where they got the turtle in the first place? Guess that doesnt make for a cute little story though, oh the evil airline taking it out on the poor innocent kids.

What a joke. The Employee should have kept the turtle for his kid, at least then it might have gotten some care and not thrown in the trash because the kids were impatient and couldnt wait a few hours (has it ever been determined WHY they "HAD" to be on that particular flight?) I feel bad for the turtle.

I feel bad for the turtle, too. As for the size of the turtle (and I doubt this as the case in this situation) turtles do breed. I once raised a turtle from an egg. As a hatchling, he as way less than 4 inches.

But I digress. Even as a 10 year old (and I'm 39 now) I would have fought, scratched, and screamed bloody murder if anyone so much as suggested that any living being get thrown away like garbage.

That being said, it seems to me like these were girls who had not been taught to be assertive, but to blindly obey "authority." Scary. Especially since an animal got thrown in the trash because of it.

Exactly, I dont know about blindly obeying authority though, as they were supposedly given multiple opportunities to wait for their dad to come back to get the turtle, and insisted on being on the flight. They were the ones who chose to throw away the turtle. It just shows a callous lack of respect for another living being to me for whatever selfish reason (again i ask, why did they have to be on that particular flight?) they had. They seemed to be quite assertive for what i would consider all the wrong reasons.

If the Simpsons have taught us anything, it is that the bolded statement is not true:D.

Groundskeeper Willie--"If I don't save the wee turtles, who will?"

(whilst being attacked by the wee turtles): "Ack! Save me from the wee turtles! They were too quick for me."

Those suckers are nothing but trouble;).

The problem with animals this small is that if they do get out of their cage, they can access very small areas where the electrical wires are and start chewing. I don't think you would want to be on that aircraft.

Who would we blame if something happened due to a turttle got out of the cage and started chewing on wires? Would we blame the child who brought it on the plane?? NO!!! Would you blame the parents?? NO!!! You would blame the airline for allowing it.

Rules like this are in place for a reason. It is a safety issue.

Really? :confused: How long does the average 2" turtle take to destroy wiring in an aircraft?:rolleyes: Can you cite a study?

That little turtle has nothing on the maggots on a US Air flight today:

Link

Part 121 aircraft have very robust systems. If critters getting aboard an aircraft and "chewing the wires" was an issue, we'd see incidents of this happening at GA aircraft/ airports in more rural settings. The only common problems in this instance are bird nests mostly.