The Ride of Her Life: $250 for Lockdown in a United Jet

Low on most people's list of leisure enjoyments is being locked out of one's home, trapped in an elevator, or buried alive. So long as commercial aircraft and airports do not adopt Universal Design there will be stories like the following:


United Airlines has apologized to a blind woman from Vancouver Island who was abandoned on an empty plane in Chicago.

Jessica Cabot of Courtenay, B.C., made headlines this week after she went public about being forgotten in an empty United Airlines plane on an April 7 stopover in Chicago.

The 18-year-old was waiting for flight attendants to escort her to a connecting flight to Florida when she heard the plane door seal shut. Ten minutes later two maintenance staff happened to find her on an unscheduled check of the plane.

She panicked in the plane, calling for help.

After a series of complaints, Cabot received a $250 airline voucher and the promise of an apology. Five weeks after her flight and a series of news stories later, she finally got one.

The full story:

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