# Obese flier turned away by airlines dies overseas



## amtrakwolverine (Nov 27, 2012)

> An ailing, 425-pound woman who was turned away by three airlines as she tried to return to the U.S. from Europe has died overseas, prompting legal action from her family.


http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/obese-flier-turned-away-airlines-dies-overseas-1C7277987


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## nightrider (Nov 28, 2012)

What I don't understand is how they were able to get her there, but not back. If they never took her over, they wouldn't have got her and themselves into that predicament. Since they did, it would be a reasonable expectation to bring her home.....


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## Anderson (Nov 28, 2012)

Good question. It's possible that her condition got substantially worse while overseas and that pushed her over a threshold and/or that there was an equipment foul-up.

I'm wondering two things:

1) Are airline seatbelts mostly standardized?

and

2) If so, might it not make sense to sell some sort of "universal extender" that a customer could bring on and easily? If not, might it instead make sense to sell "[Airline/airplane]-compatible extenders"?


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## xyzzy (Nov 28, 2012)

I believe there are three kinds of seatbelt latches. Most airlines (Delta, American, US Airways, British) use the same one. Southwest uses another; Eastern, R.I.P., used that one too. The third is seen only rarely. Point is, there is no truly universal type.

Extensions are available for consumer purchase although officially the airlines don't allow them -- you are supposed to use an extension provided by the airline. Most flight attendants ignore that rule. If there aren't enough extensions on board, somebody must deboard unless the gate agent can find an additional one.

A person weighing 425 lbs. probably cannot fit into the seat, regardless of seatbelt extension, without crowding into the adjacent traveler. Perhaps on her flight eastbound, there was an adjacent empty seat.


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## Devil's Advocate (Nov 28, 2012)

This is nonsense.

+ The only person who made this woman fat, weak, and sickly was herself.

+ The only reason the airlines could not handle her was because she was far too big and heavy to use a regular seat or an aisle-sized wheelchair.

+ A First Class seat or a VIP aircraft would probably have been able to accommodate this enormous blob of flesh, but apparently she only paid for a coach seat.

+ Even with all of this she should and could have received medical care in Budapest or Prague.

+ Six MILLION dollars? You've got to be kidding me.

These airlines were damned if you do and damned if you don't.


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## jis (Nov 28, 2012)

I wonder what Amtrak would do if a passenger showed up who could not fit through its doors. Bring on the welding torch and widen the door?


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## Blackwolf (Nov 28, 2012)

jis said:


> I wonder what Amtrak would do if a passenger showed up who could not fit through its doors. Bring on the welding torch and widen the door?


Baggage car, baby!  *ducks the rotten produce* :excl: h34r:


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## Anderson (Nov 28, 2012)

Blackwolf said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder what Amtrak would do if a passenger showed up who could not fit through its doors. Bring on the welding torch and widen the door?
> ...


Sounds like you got a transfer from the baggage car to the cabbage car...

*rimshot*


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## amtrakwolverine (Nov 29, 2012)

From this link http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57554466/delta-klm-sued-for-death-of-obese-woman-denied-flight/



> Officials also told Radar Online that the couple tried to board a third flight from Frankfurt to New York, but she was not allowed on the flight when she didn't fit in a three seat gap.


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## PRR 60 (Nov 29, 2012)

I should note that the woman suffered from diabetes (and lost a leg because of it), and had serious kidney issues. Not that she wasn't morbidly obese to begin with (which likely caused the diabetes and kidney problems), but someone who goes into kidney failure retains fluids and can gain huge amounts of additional weight and girth in a very short time just from the retained fluids. That could explain how she was able to get to Europe, but could not get back.

Despite the self-inflicted nature of obesity, this is still a sad story.


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## SarahZ (Nov 29, 2012)

I'm not sure how much weight the fluid would add, but I'm down to 311 pounds now, and I still have trouble getting the armrests down since I carry most of my weight in my butt. :blush: My hips extend about 1" into the seat next to me, so I still have to purchase two seats (which I don't mind, since it means I'm more comfortable too). I can fit in the standard seatbelt now, but when I was 360 pounds, I had to ask the FA for a seat belt extender. Anyway, even if she put on 100 pounds of fluid retention, she still would have been too heavy at her "normal" weight.

Whatever the reasons, it's sad this lady died, but at the same time, the airline has to ensure the safety and comfort of all of the passengers. The mandate that heavier passengers need to purchase an additional seat if there isn't an empty seat next to them isn't a new thing. Most airlines have it under their passenger rules on their website now, and the gate agents have been trained in tactfully explaining the rule to those who might not fit (not that it's often enforced tactfully, but they do try).

Interestingly enough, in Canada, an obese person is not required to purchase a second seat under the disability laws. In America, it is not considered a disability (nor should it be). I got heavy because I have insulin resistance and wouldn't keep carbs and sugar out of my mouth, causing me to gain weight rapidly. Now that I know better and don't want to die when I'm 40 or continue to be embarrassed in public, I've knocked that nonsense off and the weight is coming off. I don't make excuses. I screwed up, and now I'm doing my best to fix it. If someone is gaining weight for a _truly_ mysterious reason, then they need to see their doctor. If I'd done that years ago, I could have prevented this huge gain, but I was in denial and used to be one of the whiners who wouldn't take personal responsibility. :unsure: Stories like this are sad, and I'm sympathetic, but rules are rules.


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## AlanB (Nov 29, 2012)

I haven't gone to read the "print" versions of the stories that were linked above, so I don't know if it's mentioned or not, but on NBC World News the reporter doing this story a couple of nights ago made it quite clear that at least one airline didn't turn her away with out first trying to accommodate her. That airline, sorry I don't recall which although something in the back of my mind suggests Lufthansa, went so far as to enlist the help of the fire department and EMS in an effort to accommodate her.

It's not like she walked up to the gate and the agent looked at her and said no.

They went to extraordinary measures to try and help her get home. But despite their best efforts, and those of the firemen, they were unable to safely accommodate her and reluctantly turned her away.


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## Texan Eagle (Nov 30, 2012)

I don't know if you guys saw the pictures of the said lady. She was not just obese, she was humungous. Looking at the pictures I doubt she could have even fit in a full row of 3 seats to herself. The reports said even firefighters were unable to move her. A person of such dimensions and weight is a safety hazard inside a plane. If the plane needs to be evacuated for any reason, this huge mass of flesh would be sitting right there possibly blocking the safe exit of other passengers. No airline would take such a risk.

To answer the question as to how did she manage to reach Europe in the first place, I read a report that said that she gained a lot of weight during her holiday in Europe, so possibly she was "thin" enough to somehow fit into 2 or 3 seats when she flew from US to Europe but then just got blown out of proportion.

By the way, couldn't she have tried getting a ride on a cargo ship or something? That might have had enough space to accommodate her.


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## railiner (Nov 30, 2012)

Texan Eagle said:


> I don't know if you guys saw the pictures of the said lady. She was not just obese, she was humungous. Looking at the pictures I doubt she could have even fit in a full row of 3 seats to herself. The reports said even firefighters were unable to move her. A person of such dimensions and weight is a safety hazard inside a plane. If the plane needs to be evacuated for any reason, this huge mass of flesh would be sitting right there possibly blocking the safe exit of other passengers. No airline would take such a risk.
> 
> To answer the question as to how did she manage to reach Europe in the first place, I read a report that said that she gained a lot of weight during her holiday in Europe, so possibly she was "thin" enough to somehow fit into 2 or 3 seats when she flew from US to Europe but then just got blown out of proportion.
> 
> By the way, couldn't she have tried getting a ride on a cargo ship or something? That might have had enough space to accommodate her.


She could easily have gotten aboard any cruise ship that was doing a repositioning cruise or on the Queen Mary 2 doing a transatlantic crossing. There are passengers in that weight class aboard many such voyages. No problem at all. Only the timing of whether there was one scheduled when she needed to travel. There is even medical support on those ships if she needed it.....


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## PRR 60 (Nov 30, 2012)

If there was distrust of the quality of medical care in Hungary, why not simply go to a western European country? It would have been a train ride away. No one could question care in Germany, France, or the UK.


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## Texan Eagle (Nov 30, 2012)

PRR 60 said:


> If there was distrust of the quality of medical care in Hungary, why not simply go to a western European country? It would have been a train ride away.


But would she have been able to fit in a regular passenger train car, especially through the doors? Now if you are talking about attaching a flatbed wagon and putting her on that....


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