Family fumes after being booted from plane
Passenger says he just wanted to know if crew was sober
By Claire Osborn
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
One question to a flight crew, and their summer vacation was ruined, members of an Austin-area family said.
While on their way to go fishing in Canada, Hans von Schweinitz and his family were told to leave an America West flight after he asked whether the pilots had taken a sobriety test.
He said he posed the question to a flight attendant while boarding the plane July 6 in Phoenix because he was concerned that two America West pilots in Miami previously had been charged with operating an aircraft while intoxicated.
The pilots agreed to take a blood alcohol test, but afterward they told von Schweinitz to get off the plane.
Von Schweinitz, 68, a German immigrant, said being kicked off the plane reminded him of living in Germany during World War II.
"It sent cold chills down my back," he said. "My family opposed Hitler, but if you asked the wrong questions, you took your life in your hands, because the SS and Gestapo had complete power."
America West is reviewing the incident, said Janet Monahan, a spokeswoman for the airline. Airplane crews can ask passengers to leave a flight if they cause a disruption or pose a threat, Monahan said.
"What we need to determine was: Were there concerns along those lines?" she said.
Von Schweinitz, retired from the U.S. Air Force, was flying to Seattle with his 37-year-old son, Christopher von Schweinitz, and his 9-year-old grandson, Matt von Schweinitz.
They were boarding Flight 79 at 7:30 a.m. in Phoenix when the elder von Schweinitz asked about the sobriety test. After they took their seats, a flight attendant told them the pilots would take the test, said Christopher von Schweinitz.
Then the flight crew announced that the plane's departure would be delayed because a passenger had asked if the pilot had taken a blood alcohol test.
The delay lasted 2 1/2 hours while the crew waited for a blood alcohol test to be brought to the airport.
"The passengers were upset, and what was a little disconcerting was that we could hear someone talking on a cell phone and saying, `Some idiot asked this question,' " Christopher von Schweinitz said.
Finally a pilot announced that the crew had passed the sobriety test.
"He said parents should teach their children that there are consequences to asking questions and that the passenger who asked the question was going to be taken off the plane," Christopher von Schweinitz said.
A security guard escorted the von Schweinitz family off the plane. The airline put the family on the next flight to Seattle.
"People cheered, and that was embarrassing and humiliating," Christopher von Schweinitz said.
"The guy said he could put us on the next America West flight, but we had to give our word that we wouldn't ask questions like that again, and we said that we wouldn't."
The von Schweinitzes have returned to the Austin area from their fishing vacation. They immediately took their story to the tabloid TV show "Inside Edition." It aired Monday.
They have not heard from the airline, but Hans von Schweinitz says an apology wouldn't satisfy him. He says his vacation and his fishing were ruined.
"I have learned that an apology does not solve the problem," he said. "It is up to the airline to find a way to correct it so that two pilots don't fly together drunk."
America West Airlines has had reports of more than 100 sobriety comments made by passengers since two pilots were accused of preparing to fly a passenger jet while drunk in Florida two weeks ago. Both pilots lost their licenses.
"Consistent with our commitment to safety, we need to take these comments seriously," the airline said in a statement. "Most have been handled professionally. However, unfortunately in a few cases, we have overreacted." |
