Two Versions of the Same Story; One Bad Outcome
CRABBY REALIZES THAT THE AIRLINES ARE DESPERATE TO KEEP their on-time schedules, but this is ridiculous.
When Carine Desir of Brooklyn complained of breathing difficulty on an American Airlines flight from Haiti to New York, relatives she was traveling with asked flight attendants for oxygen. What happened afterward depends on whose version of the story you want to believe. Airline officials say she was administered oxygen after a three-minute delay; her family say that flight attendants twice refused to provide oxygen, and when they eventually did, the two tanks sought were empty. With Carine still struggling to breathe, relatives asked that the flight be diverted to a nearby city so they could get her medical help, but she died before the flight could land in Miami. This one is definitely headed for the courts, and only those on board know what really happened. But here's the real kicker: after Desir died inflight, the airline laid her body on the floor of first class and continued on to New York. Why mess up your ontime schedule? Another delay just adds to American's mediocre on-time performance.
Now you have experts warning passengers not to fly should they feel under the weather. In fairness, I guess if you really think about it, the family wants that body back in New York too to make arrangements. But a corpse lying on the floor of first class? It's enough to make frequent business travelers imagine their future.
Posted February 26, 2008
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