An American Airlines regional jet was met by hazmat crews after a so-called service dog reportedly made such a disgusting mess onboard that passengers became sick. Genuine service animals can have accidents, but this is exactly why travelers are fed up with fake service animal abuse.
American Airlines Flight Met By Hazmat After “Service Dog” Mess Makes Passengers Sick
An American Airlines regional jet from Nashville (BNA) to Washington National (DCA) was reportedly met by hazmat crews after a dog relieved itself in the cabin and the stench was purportedly bad enough to make passengers sick.
As flagged by View From The Wing, the flight was operated by PSA Airlines as American Eagle flight 5085 using a Bombardier CRJ-700. The aircraft did not divert and actually arrived slightly ahead of schedule, but pilots radioed ahead for hazmat support after the incident onboard.
The ACARS message reportedly said:
SERVICE DOG SH*T ALL OVER CABIN. PAX GETING SICK ATC AND OPS REQUESTED HAZMAT
That is quite a message…
Emergency vehicles and crews met the aircraft on arrival, and medics reportedly checked passengers as they deplaned. Thankfully, nobody required medical attention.
However, the aircraft (N716PS) was apparently so soiled it was taken out of service for the rest of the day (this according to some comments on reddit). It scheduled to travel to Columbia, South Carolina (CAE) this morning as AA5107.
This Is Why People Are Fed Up With Fake Service Animals!
Let’s start with the obvious: real service animals can get sick. Dogs are living creatures and even a highly trained service dog can have an accident in extraordinary circumstances, especially if ill, stressed, or trapped on an aircraft longer than expected.
So I cannot say with absolute certainty that this incident alone proves the animal was not a legitimate service dog.
But come on…
A properly trained working dog should not be turning a cramped regional jet into a biohazard. And this sort of incident is precisely why passengers and crews (and me most of all) are increasingly skeptical when another “service dog” boards an aircraft.
The problem is abuse of the system to skirt fees for pets or prohibitions against larger dogs.
Since emotional support animals are no longer treated the same way they once were, some passengers have simply moved to claiming that their pets are service animals. The easy self-certification has become the new loophole. And because airlines are rightly cautious about questioning disability claims too aggressively, the system remains easy to exploit.
That is unfair to passengers and is unfair to crews. Bu most importantly, it is unfair to travelers with legitimate service animals who depend on highly trained dogs to navigate the world…
Airlines Need To Take This More Seriously
I know that not every disability is visible and I don’t believe airlines should humiliate passengers or create impossible barriers for disabled travelers who legitimately need a service animal.
But there has to be a better balance.
If a dog is not housebroken, cannot remain under control, or creates a health hazard onboard, it should not be flying in the cabin as a service animal…can we all agree on that?
The U.S. Department of Transportation already allows airlines to require service animal forms and behavior standards, but enforcement is still uneven. Airlines need to be willing to deny transport when an animal is not properly trained or when the circumstances suggest the passenger is gaming the system.
A service dog is a trained working animal and if the “service dog” leaves feces all over the cabin and passengers are getting sick, something has gone very wrong…it’s just not convincing to me that a well-trained dog suddenly got sick.
CONCLUSION
An American Airlines regional jet was met by hazmat crews after a so-called service dog reportedly made a mess so bad that passengers became sick. I feel for the passengers and the crew and I even feel for the dog. But this incident is another reminder that the service animal system remains vulnerable to abuse.
My solution (ban all dogs) may be a bit heavy-handed, but if we keep having incidents like these, it may be the more pragmatic approach.
LALF is uniquely the anti-dogs-on-planes blog. *wink*
Instead of banning, maybe just require all dogs to wear a diaper for the duration of the flight?
Could be a compromise…
@Matthew, I have a good friend who is blind and has a seeing eye dog, a real legitimate service animal.
That dog had an accident on board a flight to Europe, it happens. My friend kept apologizing to anyone he could, he felt so bad about it.
Luckily, the crew were really good about it and helped him clean it up quickly.
He thanked the FAs profusely for their assistance and one even said, “sh*t happens” and for someone with real need, I 100% sympathize and would go above and beyond to help.
He was with traveling alone, his wife had flown ahead for business and after he got there, they were going to to enjoy a two week vacation.
The FAs he said were amazing, going above and beyond for him the entire flight and he never asked for anything, he likes to be as independent as possible.
The accident really isn’t the problem you are concerned with, it is a symptom of the problem, but the real problem is fake service animals.
Many hospitals require that doctors be board certified so why not require some sort of certification from service dogs. All service dogs should have undergone some sort of formal training so document it.
Come on Matt… accident’s happen. Just the other day I was at the grocery store and I crapped in my pants. Fortunately I was in the paper section and was able to contain the mess. 😉
Time to scrap health care privacy laws. it’s a scam in its self any more. ( and my view isn’t just concerning disabilities ). When we need help privacy should be the least of our worries. The abuse and fraud need to stop.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” -Ben Franklin
Your opinion is bad. We already have enough data collection going on, why would you want to add to that, just because you’re a miserable pr*ck who wants to police your neighbors?!
How come that this is only an issue on US airlines (and dome US bound flights)? I’ve never seen a non-American with a dog in the cabin and I’ve never been on a flight in Europe with dogs in the cabin. (I say this as someone who genuinely love Americans and the US.)
Because of the first Bush and perhaps the worst law in American history, the ADA.
Responsible for some of the dumbest considerations and biggest financial scams in history. Along destroying many small businesses.
The problem is not the ADA. It’s the fact we have ZERO infrastructure to certify actual service animals that received training. If we could have it where dog trainers can sign off on the animals and the government issue blue tags with something to ID it as genuine. We would have fewer pets being passed off as Service animals.
The ADA is literally what prohibits the sort of requirements or certifications for service dogs that you’re talking about. So yes, the problem is the ADA.
“worst law in American history, the ADA.”
Oh Kyle. Wait until one of your kids is born with a handicap and see how quickly you change that opinion you fucking douchebag.
Suck my dick buddy, watch one of my films if you want to see how I like it and how I do it. I recommend Chaos Men 7 for you.
Except the ADA doesn’t apply to airlines.
You have absolutely no data points to determine the legitimacy of whether this dog is a service animal. You even state, ‘service animals have accidents’. Stop using any opportunity to get your anti dog agenda across, it’s as old as the shit the crew radioed in.
Time to ban dogs, Dennis. A blanket ban.
Really, how often does this happen ?
Leave the animals at home, please. They really are not that important.
I cant believe this administration, which hasn’t seen a right that it doesn’t want to trample on, hasn’t ended this madness
Use the power of your connections with the various airlines and your social media platform to ensure the individual owner of the so-called service animal is properly tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. Instead of referencing some ambiguous flight, do a little sleuthing and tell us the exact date and flight number, the name of the passenger with the “service dog”, the home address of that passenger, and let the masses take it from there.
Within 72 hours I suspect the fake service animal would be skinned alive and left hanging for dead in the entry to the owner’s home as retribution for sins and damages. In parallel, the unscrupulous owner would be shamed from her workplace, fired, and effectively canceled from society. Within a few weeks she would realize that she has no reason to exist, no hopes for the future, and would take her own life by a drug overdose or an assisted version of the same.
Failing this crowd-sourcing approach, you might also consider traveling with a hefty supply of ibuprofen or other medications that are exceptionally toxic to dogs in case you need to take matters into your own hands. A friend of mine likes to crush up ibuprofen and other anti inflammatory drugs into a fine powder, mix with peanut butter, and then offer up as a snack in airports to self-proclaiming service dogs. Legitimate service animals always refuse the temptation due to their rigorous training; fake service animals – aka pets owned by devil’s spawn – not so much. They aggressively and desperately devour the enhanced peanut butter snack (sometimes to the owner’s chagrin)…only to suffer extreme consequences within hours.
One way or the other, problem solved. An Eye for Eye, Matthew.