I witnessed the most amazing thing

[elycelynne]

And not "good" amazing either.

 

I was recently on a United flight from LGA to ORD in coach. We were about two minutes away from actually landing, and a woman and her little boy (around 4 or 5) got up to go to the bathroom! The flight attendant told her that she couldn't do that and ordered her back to her seat.

 

I don't know if the woman had never flown before and didn't realize how close we were to touching down and what it entailed, didn't understand English, or was just incredibly stupid. In any event, she and her son were really lucky that they got back in their seats just in time for touchdown or else they could have been seriously injured.

 

Like I said -- Amazing! :eek:

[headhunterke]

Some people should just stay at home. If you don't realize you need to sit down during landen, you'll be having serious issues raising a kid as well. Seriously, knowing you have to sit down during landing isn't rocketscience.

I fly quite a bit for work and it amazes me every time how many people actualy feel the urge to get down to the toilet during final approach. And not just for the shorter flights, it even happens on flights of +10hrs. Because in that time, there wasn't a single opportunity to get down to the lav...

Edited April 10, 2015 by headhunterke

[CantanaLobo]

Even if the the landing was smooth as glass, I'd hate to be walking in the aisle when the pilot engages the thrust reversers. I vote for "incredibly stupid". Possibly Darwinian stupid - I can imagine Junior smashing into that nice reinforced cockpit door.

[FlyerTalker]

I'm betting on "it's just an announcement and really doesn't apply to me". Sorta like dress codes in the MDR.

 

Lately, I have been noticing that pilots have been making their 20/30 minute out announcements with a specific reference to "this would be a good time to go to the lav". Don't know if this is a company directive or just feedback from cabin staff, but it makes sense.

[headhunterke]

I have noticed this around several airlines as well. I know the company I work for has no such rules, but quite some pilots make the announcement out of own will.

[Zach1213]

I was on a flight from London to Chicago back in college (2004ish) where an elderly gentleman clearly had an issue and got up for the bathroom a good 5 times in the last hour. He even got up on final approach, and the flight attendants didn't stop him. He was in the bathroom as we were landing and rolling out

[Fairfield Nana]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

[Laurie S.]

I was on a flight from Detroit to Bogota in 1973 and the pilot made an announcement about severe turbulence ahead and that everyone, including the FAs, must sit down and buckle up. One woman decided that didn't apply to her and got up to use the bathroom. She was bounced off the ceiling, broke her back, and spent the last hour of the flight lying in the aisle.

[fbgd]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

 

:confused::confused:

[6rugrats]

I bet this mom was only responding to her child, who probably told her he was going to wet his pants if he didn't get to the bathroom immediately. Doubt she was "stupid", probably just trying to take care of her child and didn't realize the plane was about to land.

Edited April 10, 2015 by 6rugrats

[waterbug123]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

 

What brought that on? :confused:

[kelkel2]

I bet this mom was only responding to her child, who probably told her he was going to wet his pants if he didn't get to the bathroom immediately. Doubt she was "stupid", probably just trying to take care of her child and didn't realize the plane was about to land.

 

I agree, I assume it's very difficult for parents at times when they are traveling with a small child who has been recently toilet trained. I'm not a parent so I can't really say for sure. But, most kids at a young age don't have that ability to plan ahead to say, oh the plane is landing soon, I better try to go to the bathroom now. But the mother could have encouraged it. She knew the plane was landing soon and could have tried to get the child to use the bathroom at a safe time.

[CantanaLobo]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

Sorry you feel that way. Peeing in you pants is easier to recover from than broken body parts due to getting banged around during landing. The mother chose to disregard the fasten seat belt sign in the interests of her sons dry pants. The seat belt sign means the pilot thinks people should not be wandering around the cabin. Mommy apparently knows better than the pilot.

 

Nothing to do with being an expert, which I'm not. Merely a layman's understanding of what happens to loose things when someone steps on the brake hard.

 

I stand by my "stupid" characterization. If the son ended up with a broken back like the person Laurie S mentioned, what would you think of the mother?

Edited April 10, 2015 by CantanaLobo

[headhunterke]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

 

Have you ever been in a plane that had a less smooth landing? And then I'm not saying a little shaking. Believe me, it's common sense to realise getting up during take off and landing is potentialy fatal. Why do you think even crew members sit down? If you've ever talked to anyone who flies a couple of times, you'll hear the same story over and over again. And you know why? Because it's true. What will you do when the plane slips off the runway, the landing gear collapses, the captain has to abort landing and make a 2nd attempt,...

These chances are VERY real. It's plain ignorance if you do not realise that. You can get serious injuries or even death if something goes wrong.. It's like people jumping in front of trains when they are approaching only to jump away at the last second. It's just a stupid thing to do and you do not have to be a so called expert like us, as you so kindly put it, to know.

Edited April 10, 2015 by headhunterke

[navybankerteacher]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

 

Stupid needs to be identified as stupid. Even if people do not care if they get slammed around, they have no right to let themselves, or their children, be turned into missiles and injure other passengers.

 

Not commenting negatively approaches the level of stupidity being discussed.

[Globaliser]

I bet this mom was only responding to her child, who probably told her he was going to wet his pants if he didn't get to the bathroom immediately. Doubt she was "stupid", probably just trying to take care of her child and didn't realize the plane was about to land.

I have some sympathy with this. There are times when things like this may happen, and while the rules would normally be enforced (as it seems they were on this occasion), even SOPs have a little flexibility for emergencies - whether or not the individual passenger has any idea about that flexibility.

 

What really was beyond acceptable was the occasion on a flight I was on when a cabin crew was literally half way along the aircraft pushing a catering trolley at the moment of touchdown. She had the presence of mind to apply the brakes and brace herself against a nearby seat. But that is something which absolutely definitely should not have happened that day.

[grandma*knows*best]

Except for Zach on last post, the rest of you need to reflect on your negative comments. I never cease to be amazed at some of the nasty replies from you "experts". Wish everyone could be as smart as you guys! This posting will probably be deleted but I feel better venting about some of you people.:mad:

 

What in the world are you talking about? Did I miss something?

[CantanaLobo]

What in the world are you talking about? Did I miss something?

I think Fairfield Nana was objecting to the mother being called stupid.

[grandma*knows*best]

I think Fairfield Nana was objecting to the mother being called stupid.

 

I think it's fair to call the behavior of someone who gets up from their seat during landing to use the restroom as being stupid. I don't understand that poster's objection.

[Brighton Line]

1995 Hurricane Marilyn, we were literally the last flight out. After our departure JFK closed.

 

We are bouncing all over the sky. No ding of the no smoking sign and a Pilot comes on the PA short and abrupt "Flight Attendants Remain Seated!!".

 

You would think everyone would get the hint that it is not safe to unbuckle let alone get up from their seat?

 

Yup, and elderly lady gets up, both hands holding two different seats and starts walking to the lav.

 

FA, on the PA almost shouting "Ma'am return to your seat NOW!!"

Nope, off to do her business. None of the FA's got up to try to get her back to her seat, and good for them. I am surprised she didn't get hurt and wouldn't want that stupidity to cause injury to the crew.

 

We climbed above the weather and it was a beautiful sunny flight down to Puerto Rico until we landed and the hotel still didn't have power....

Another story...

FWIW

[CantanaLobo]

I think it's fair to call the behavior of someone who gets up from their seat during landing to use the restroom as being stupid. I don't understand that poster's objection.

Agree with you. While having two children grow to adulthood in spite of our best attempts at raising them, I've had the occasional stupid moments (none the topic of this thread). Stupid moments go with the territory of being a parent - no one's perfect. That doesn't excuse the fact I was stupid. The important thing is to realize it was stupid and don't do it again, or better, don't be stupid in the first place. If this thread keeps someone from hauling their kid down to the lavatory during landing, I'm more than willing to be called nasty.

[notentirelynormal]

On a flight from LAX to Vancouver there was a lady with two small children. I swear that woman had no brains. First, take off and landing and turbulence - no seat belt. She let the little darlings run and up and down aisle. I told her at least twice to get her kids out of the aisle. They were bothering other people and they were supposed to be in their seats. One was supposed to be a lap baby.

 

But, she topped it off during landing AFTER the flight attendants made a point to tell her to keep them in their seats with the seat belts on. We are taxiing to the terminal and the kids are running up and down the aisle. After about 4 people yelled at her she told them to sit down. One lady asked if they actually had a parent on board. I'm pretty sure she spoke English but was pretending she didn't.

[nolatravelgirl]

The FAs will not get up to physically restrain a passenger who gets up when the fasten seat belt sign was on. They are only instructed to make the announcement to remain seated. I was once on a flight and we were sent a very long circuitous route only to join a very long take off line, it was nearly sixty minutes since taking my seat and we were nowhere near taking off. I kept looking pleadingly at the flight attendant that I needed to go. Had I known it would be that long I would have gone before the boarding door closed as a precaution.

 

Finally seeing how desperate I was (she was seated in front of me in the jump seat of first class) the FA told me that she had no power to stop me and she would just continue to make the announcement. Granted this situation was different as we were still on the ground, but it was frankly ridiculous that we weren't going anywhere for a while yet they were still required to make these louder and louder announcements.

[fbgd]

The FAs will not get up to physically restrain a passenger who gets up when the fasten seat belt sign was on. They are only instructed to make the announcement to remain seated. I was once on a flight and we were sent a very long circuitous route only to join a very long take off line, it was nearly sixty minutes since taking my seat and we were nowhere near taking off. I kept looking pleadingly at the flight attendant that I needed to go. Had I known it would be that long I would have gone before the boarding door closed as a precaution.

 

Finally seeing how desperate I was (she was seated in front of me in the jump seat of first class) the FA told me that she had no power to stop me and she would just continue to make the announcement. Granted this situation was different as we were still on the ground, but it was frankly ridiculous that we weren't going anywhere for a while yet they were still required to make these louder and louder announcements.

 

Indeed, I've had similar at JFK whilst in a long line for taxi and also inflight.

 

In the case of the latter the seatbelt sign had been put on around an hour before the end of the flight and never switched on. Was landing into DFW and knew it'd take a while to get to the gate. I buzzed the FA and she said I really shouldn't go but about 20mins later I held my hand up so she could see (like you was in the first couple of rows and she was in the F galley strapped in) and she shrugged her shoulders as if to say there was nothing she could do about it so I went.

Edited April 14, 2015 by fbgd

[notentirelynormal]

On a flight from LAX to Vancouver there was a lady with two small children. I swear that woman had no brains. First, take off and landing and turbulence - no seat belt. She let the little darlings run and up and down aisle. I told her at least twice to get her kids out of the aisle. They were bothering other people and they were supposed to be in their seats. One was supposed to be a lap baby.

 

But, she topped it off during landing AFTER the flight attendants made a point to tell her to keep them in their seats with the seat belts on. We are taxiing to the terminal and the kids are running up and down the aisle. After about 4 people yelled at her she told them to sit down. One lady asked if they actually had a parent on board. I'm pretty sure she spoke English but was pretending she didn't.

 

Let me add: those kids were in the aisle while we were landing, during touch down as well as the taxiing.