The tragic story of a dog killed inside the passenger cabin of a United Airlines flight demands accountability. Who should take the fall for this horrible error in judgment?
I’d like to think that other than the dog’s owner, the person who feels worst about what happened is the flight attendant.
But it’s not about who feels worse. It is about getting to the root of why the dog died.
Two passenger eyewitnesses confirm that the FA instructed the passenger to place her dog in the overhead bin (i.e., she knew it was a dog). Meanwhile, ABC News is now reporting the FA denies knowing it was dog and one other passenger has backed her up.
We have also learned that the dog owner, Catalina Robledo, does not speak English and may not have understood clearly the FA instructions or been able to properly articulate it was a dog.
United Backs its FA
United has just released a statement with new information–
We have spoken to the family, our crew and a number of passengers who were seated nearby. We have learned that the customer did tell the flight attendant that there was a dog in the carrier. However, our flight attendant did not hear or understand her, and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin. As we stated, we take full responsibility and are deeply sorry for this tragic accident. We remain in contact with the family to express our condolences and offer support.
To prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets. This visual tag will further help our flight attendants identify pets in-cabin.
Note that this directly contradicts the testimony of at least two other passengers…
As I outlined earlier, United’s Flight Attendant Operations Manual states that a pet must be kept under a seat. There is no provision for placing pets in overhead bins.
I don’t think she deliberately intended to kill the dog. Like me, she probably had no idea that a dog would suffocate inside an overhead bin. But she broke protocol.
Therefore, I believe she must be held accountable for her actions. FAs constantly remind us, on U.S. carriers, that they are “primarily here for our safety”. Clearly, that was not the case here.
We have yet to hear from the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the union representing all United FAs, but I hope it will not try to cover for this FA.
It may be that she is a victim of an airline culture that poorly trains employees. It may be that she really did not know it was a dog. And it may be that sacrificing her is simply giving in to the culture’s bloodlust.
But for the good of the company, she needs to go. Saving her job is not worth more than round after round of headlines about poor customer service at United. Firing her will send a clear message that United does not tolerate even honest mistakes that lead to death. There is no argument that she made a critical error in judgement.
If she did not understand what the passenger was saying, she should have sought clarification.
CONCLUSION
Meting out punishment does not resurrect the dog. But punishing the FA for failing to follow protocol is appropriate. I’m not calling for prosecution here…I dismiss any notion that a dog life is tantamount to human life. Even so, such callousness for life must be clearly and unequivocally condemned. The only way to realistically do that is to make this FA the sacrificial lamb of the far more systemic problem. Her termination will send a clear message to FAs that they must know and abide by their rules.
You’re getting a ton of material from this incident
Dog’s owner should know better prior to booking a flight on United.
I agree that the FA should be fired, however if there is to be a sacrificial lamb it should be the CEO Oscar Munoz. They need a total culture change at the airline. Its PR nightmare after PR nightmare at United.
No way the FA should be fired. Suspended maybe, but if the passenger didn’t speak English how is the FA solely to blame? Sorry, but I back the FA here.
In the ABC video (link to story above) in the interview the passenger talks perfect English,
who the hell said she didn’t?
CBS news is reporting that the FA was the one who placed the dog in the overhead bin. I don’t understand how an FA can lift a carrier with a live animal in it and not know there was a dog inside.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/owners-dog-died-in-overhead-bin-on-united-airlines-flight-speak-out/
The family says a flight attendant insisted it go in the overhead bin. “‘It’s a dog, it’s a dog.’ He can’t breathe up there.’ And she said, ‘It doesn’t matter, it still goes up there … She felt the dog and she put him up there,” Sophia recalled.
The family says they heard Kokito barking for two hours, then he stopped. They wanted to check on him but couldn’t.”We tried, but there was a lot of turbulence. And we weren’t allowed to stand up,” Sophia said.When the flight was over, they found Kokito had died
Maybe not prosecuted, although that was my first reaction, but at least dragged into Times Square, put in stocks and let the public throw rotten fruit at her, even briefly. A single soggy tomato would do.
This was a loved puppy. French Bulldog, the most heartbreaking breed. But do this to any puppy and she’s toast. The traveling public will forgive most transgressions but not the needless , brutal death of an innocent pup.
Maybe not even the stocks but she’s gotta go, Oscar.
Total BS the FA didn’t know it was dog! It was even reported that the dog was barking! So is the FA deaf as well?
FIRE HER!
God I almost feel compelled to take a flight on United just to see if it’s really as bad as it seems. I’ve taken 2 round trip flights on United in the last decade (a few years apart), and both were badddddddddd, but not THIS bad.
I would never, never, never, never (did I say never?) put my dog or any other animal in the overhead bin. If the FA screamed, threatened me, etc, etc. I would either get off the plane and sort it with the ground crew, if still on the ground, or tell the FA to have me arrested when we arrive. Either A. the FA is trying to assert some power just because, or B. didn’t really care what happened to the living being she was forcing to go into an overhead bin, or C. Really didn’t know their was an animal in the carrier. No matter if it’s A, B, or C, it your duty as the person who has agreed to care for the animal to keep it safe and do what needs to be done to make sure it’s well being is maintained. It’s sad that once again an innocent animal has died because of the stupidity of human animals (yes, I mean both the FA and the dog owner). F*cking pathetic.
No dogs, no pets, no time. Get a good g—-n grip travelers! A perfect storm of s..t for brains.
United is a disastrous airline. Jeff Smisek ruined it. As a Continental million miler, I’m so disappointed, but I’d rather fly Delta now and connect than deal with the tradgedy that is UA.
Are you insane? I agree with Jay. Where is the owner’s responsibility here? What if this was your son? If an FA told you that your son needed to be placed in the overhead bin you would surely object to the point of getting off the flight. And if you didn’t object and your son suffocated you would be equally responsible for having caused his death. You can plead “I was just following orders” and neither can she. She is an entitled, drama-seeking leptard who should sooner care for her baby and teenage daughter than try to bring a dog on board.
Also, I object to your click-bait title suggesting that the FA “killed” the dog. Move on to real news!
So the dog barked for 2 hours and not one person on the plane came forward to rescue him.
Shame on all of them, the owner, the FA, the fellow travellers. He deserved better than this sorry lot.
I agree.
I feel that the dog has a soul, and think of them no differently than a member of the family, no differently than a human being.
Yes, if I had to choose between saving the life of a person or a dog I would choose the human being (I suppose there might be a few exceptions lol). But I know that’s how the dog would want it. In essence, it would not have been me who saved the person’s life, but the dog – who sacrificed his life to save the person.
So from my point of view, there is no one Soul person responsible. Everyone on the plane who knew about the dog in the overhead bin shares responsibility. You can say “I didn’t know a dog would suffocate in the overhead bin,” but two hours of barking should have been enough of a clue that’s something was wrong.
For the most part, dogs are people too, and most of the time better people.
In the United States FAs are in a very unique position to act as both “protectors” (supposedly) and enforcers. We are constantly told that the reason for so many US based FAs being so appallingly rude is that they are there “primarily for your safety”.
If that is the case she must immediately be fired, as she used her powers (Yes I am using that word – who in the US would dare disobey an FA these days and risk getting dragged off a plane) to order a woman to put her pet in a fatal situation. Such a person should never be allowed to look after human life as well.
On a more general note, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the culture at United has become extraordinarily toxic. This sort of incident simply happens at United far more often than any other major carrier and it’s not just a factor of media attention. Something comprehensive needs to be done to restore employee morale and basic civil behaviour at that airline. I can’t imagine the recent bonus incident, during which the management demonstrated total contempt for their employees, is helping.
Would go out of my way to avoid United now in favour of AA (although that’s easy since I am mainly a oneworld flyer). But I simply wouldn’t ever willingly choose to fly this airline, and surely I am not the only one. When the next downturn hits they could be in deep trouble if they can’t start to address this toxic culture.
The dog owner should sue United and sue the flight attendant personally if law permits. Moreover, I believe the flight attendant should be face criminal charges in Texas and/or in New York and/or in any other jurisdiction that may have the power to criminally charge her. The flight attendant needs to be made an example of and needs to be held accountable for her actions. If I was a passenger and a flight attendant told me to store my pet in an overhead bin, I would certainly be on the Do Not Fly List after said encounter. I sincerely hope the flight attendant gets absolutely crucified, loses her job and spends time in jail, as she is deserving of all such punishment.
You are putting the entire onus on the flight attendant. Did it ever occur to you that the passenger did nothing ?……..listens to her dog whimper and bark and stupidly leaves it in the bin ?? Who does that??
As well, other passengers around her who observed all this just sat there passively. These are the people that should be prosecuted – for animal cruelty.
United is going to take a closer look at all of this. Robert Mueller has been appointed to lead the investigation.
Is this an attempt at humor?
Are you daft? Of course it is…
What is up with your profile picture anyway. The Robocop glasses aren’t a great look.
Let’s be civil, please.
How many more problems before someone realizes Munoz is not the right man to turn this train wreck around?
Writes nice letters.
Wow, it really has made a difference, has it not?
Furthermore, FAs are operating with this cloud of immunity despite showing over and over it has not been properly earned.
As a United retiree, 25 years in Customer Service and operations, I cringe every time I learn of bad news regarding my airline. I left several years into the CO merger, and, at my station ( COs home airport), lack of leadership, lack of training, and poor management resulted in errors and low morale. Clearly this continues today, the F/As may have a contract, but CO and UA crews still are not unified…Perhaps this F/A did not know proceedures, perhaps he or she didn’t care,,,but United needs to make someone accountable for this terrible error…
“Two passenger eyewitnesses confirm that the FA instructed the passenger to place her dog in the overhead bin (i.e., she knew it was a dog). Meanwhile, ABC News is now reporting the FA denies knowing it was dog and one other passenger has backed her up.
We have also learned that the dog owner, Catalina Robledo, does not speak English and may not have understood clearly the FA instructions or been able to properly articulate it was a dog.”
———-
Doesn’t this tell the whole story ? No FA in their right mind including risking their job would direct someone to put a dog in the overhead. Ms. Robledo just left it up to her teen daughter to be the interpreter. Of course a young teen is not capable of seeing all the vagaries of what could go wrong but certainly the mother (an adult) should have had enough sense to check on the dog OR REMOVE IT FROM THE BIN at the very least during a three hour flight !!!. Did everyone on that plane stay seated for the full three hours because supposedly “there was turbulence”.? Why do I highly doubt that (eye roll x 1000). Time for people to admit that passengers are sometimes not altogether there, they lie, they don’t listen, they don’t pay attention, they do what they want.
Just as culpable are the other “horrified” passengers around her who quickly went on Instagram and Facebook to do their “reporting” yet sat there for the three hours of flight (while the dog whimpered and barked) and did nothing. Apparently they were only horrified after the fact. Animal cruelty on everyone’s part but the flight attendant (unaware there was a dog in what looks like a generic bag, not a pet carrier).
Hi JoEllen,
I think you’ll like Anthony’s rebuttal today:
http://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/03/15/dead-dog-united-airlines-defense/