Autistic teen, family kicked off flight home from DisneyWorld

An Oregon woman said she has hired an attorney after her family was kicked off a United Airlines flight because her autistic daughter was being “disruptive.”

Donna Beegle told CBS affiliate KOIN her family, including her husband and son, were removed from a flight from Orlando to Portland after a trip to DisneyWorld.

Beegle said her daughter, 15-year-old Juliette, became upset due to skipping dinner. “I know her, when she gets overhungry or overthirsty, she really struggles because she can’t tell us and she gets really frustrated,” she said.

She said she asked to buy a hot meal from first class, and after some back-and-forth, got her meal and Beegle said she calmed down.

An hour into the flight, it was announced the flight would be making an emergency landing in Salt Lake City because of a passenger “in the back of the plane who has behavior issues,” KOIN reported.

After being seen by paramedics, police arrived to escort the family from the flight. Beegle said they were asked to leave because of “the fear of autism.”

In a statement, United Airlines spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm said the crew “made the best decision for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and elected to divert to Salt Lake City after the situation became disruptive.”

She told KOIN she is filing a lawsuit for training, not money. “So no one else has to go through this.”

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva