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California Teen With Down Syndrome Not Allowed to Fly First Class

The boy's parents have reportedly flown with their son without any problems at least 30 times.

A Southern California family says they were denied entry onto an American Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey back to their Porterville home, near Bakersfield, because their son has Down Syndrome, according to an article on the Huffington Post.

The Vanderhorst family had decided to splurge on first-class plane tickets for the first time, but on Sunday while the family was waiting to board the flight an American Airlines representative allegedly pulled them aside and said the pilot thought their 16-year-old son Bede was a "flight risk."

Joan and Robert Vanderhorst had reportedly flown without issue with their son at least 30 times, the Huffington Post reported.

Click here to read the full story on the Huffington Post.

 

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Bren September 6, 2012 at 04:23 pm
WTF? Don't post 9/11 airplanes come with "hardened" cockpits? If a sweet kid with Down syndrome has the ability to "disrupt" the pilot, I'd hate to think what a terrorist could accomplish!
Phyllis McArthur September 6, 2012 at 06:31 pm
I totally agree with Bren, having a close family member with Down Syndrome, it's absolutely rediculous to think that this child could even get close to disrupting the flight It's a sad day when this kind of abuse is allowed to happen.
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Pearl June 13, 2013 at 02:15 pm
This is a compete outrage!!! A 12.7% salary increase?!? A 100% increase in his car allowance?!?Read More I say get rid of Grasseli, Olbert, Collins and Clapper. Shame, shame, shame on them!!! They have sold the residents of San Carlos down the river!!! Remember this, San Carlos voters, the next time you go to the polls!!!
Paul Burnette and Grant Wood prepare to cut the ribbon with Deputy Mayor Ross
Kimberly Jennings May 29, 2013 at 10:14 am
How exciting to have some of the best orthotic specialists in the WORLD right here in our ownRead More backyard, and with such a commitment to patient care as their top priority! So glad to read this.
Marc Gottlieb June 2, 2013 at 03:53 pm
PS: Ideally, everybody will be able to sign up at the college website. But I have to acknowledgeRead More that some of the language may not be perfectly as clear as we'd like, especially if this is your first enrollment. So, if you need any assistance (or maybe aren't computer-savvy) the very nice Registrar Office people can assist you on 650/574-6165. Just tell them you want to sign up for Summer semester, Real Estate Practice 110 class, Course Reference number 54642 and that you'd like to complete the enrollment today. You'll like the class once we get you in! Thank you!
Marc Gottlieb June 2, 2013 at 06:25 pm
PS: Ideally, everybody will be able to sign up at the college website. But I have to acknowledgeRead More that some of the language may not be perfectly as clear as we'd like, especially if this is your first enrollment. So, if you need any assistance (or maybe aren't computer-savvy) the very nice Registrar Office people can assist you on 650/574-6165. Just tell them you want to sign up for Summer semester, Real Estate Practice 110 class, Course Reference number 54642 and that you'd like to complete the enrollment today. You'll like the class... and CSM... once we get you in! ALL WELCOME! Thank you!
Peter Radsliff May 27, 2013 at 08:56 pm
We have left the dog with the Peninsula Humane Society at 12 Airport Blvd. at Peninsula Ave.
imollyq May 30, 2013 at 09:55 pm
Among all the supporters isn't there one competent attorney who can get an injunction to keep theRead More rink from being destroyed and who can sue SPI Holding, and if necessary the City, to enforce the Master Plan Agreement? A toilet and an astro turf field are useless to ice skaters. I smell something rotten in the Mayor and the City Council's excuses. At least one skater must have a parent or family member who is an attorney with some sense of decency to do the work pro bono.
Claire Mack June 2, 2013 at 09:21 am
To close the ice rink is a crime. I had this conversation years ago with Peter Pau, the man whoRead More built it. We need places for children to recreate. When we send them to juvenile hall, we wring our hands and wonder why! No skate board parks in convenient places and now the skating rink. Why are our children the ones to sacrafice?