The American Airlines Pit BullIs this a safety feature now, or just more breed discrimination?
On July 22nd, 2002, pilots of an American Airlines Boeing 757, Flight 282 , en route to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, heard strange, thumping noises coming from the cargo hold of the plane.
Upon their descent, the pilot's also discovered that various navigational equipment, and their back-up radio had ceased to function. Thankfully nothing vital to the plane's performance, but perplexing, all the same.
The mystery was solved, however, when the cargo hold was opened after landing, and shocked airline personnel were treated to the sight of a 65-pound American Pit Bull Terrier running loose in the hold. The dog had broken free of it's kennel, and in the course of the flight from San Diego to New York City, had chewed through a fiberglass bulkhead, and into part of the plane's wiring system.
While the plane's performance was not compromised in flight, the damage was severe enough to keep the jet grounded for nine days of repair. Though it did live to fly again, airline representative
s state that on a different flight, a different type of plane, the damage may very well have been fatal.
American Airline's reaction to this seems rather extreme though. Issuing a nearly complete ban on the so-called "aggressive breeds", the airline company state that they will prohibit all pit bull types, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers over the age of 12 weeks, and any other dog that exhibits aggressive behavior from flying.
The American Kennel Club is up in arms, as well as literally thousands, if not millions of dog owners in North America. Calling American Airline's reaction extreme and an over-reaction, AKC is now urging dog owners everywhere to email their opposing comments to the president of American Airlines in the hopes of stemming this wave of "breed paranoia".
Once again, we see a case of "one dog = the banning of thousands". This single incident, a most-likely once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and suddenly shipping a dog across country becomes nearly impossible.
I urge you to participate in the two polls along the right side of this article. Who knows? Maybe if we create a strong, united voice, we can overturn this decision. After all, it has happened before. I'm sure you all can guess what my own vote is.
http://dogs.about.com/cs/generalcare/l/blairline_apbt.htm