Mom and ‘Uncontrollable’ Autistic Son Escorted Off Plane

A mother and her two-year autistic son were escorted off an American Airlines flight departing from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, N.C. on Monday because the “uncontrollable” behavior of the boy.

This theory, however, doesn’t match the one delivered by American Airlines in a statement, which said Janice Farrell kept her carry-on bag on the floor in front of her seat, thus breaking the FAA regulations, ABC News reported. The child’s crying and screaming “uncontrollably” just contributed “to an uncontrollable and potentially unsafe atmosphere for our passengers and crew,” the statement further read.

Following these incidents, “the captain taxied the airplane back to the gate before departure and the passengers were removed.”

On the other hand, Janice Farrell sustains that she allowed the flight attendant to place her bag in an overhead compartment and explained that her child was suffering from autism and yelling at him would only make things worse. But, the flight attendant did not take into consideration the mother’s words and tried to tighten the seat belt around the child.

In the end, a pilot came into the cabin telling the boy that he must stay on his seat, making his mother crying. This made the boy behave even worse. “He was on the floor rolling around,” the mother told ABC News’ Raleigh-Durham affiliate WTVD.

That very moment, the pilot decided to turn the plane around heading it to the terminal where both the mother and the child were escorted off the plane.

Following this incident, Janice Farrell told reporters she would never fly American Airlines again. She also added that the flight attendants must be more understanding when dealing with special needs children.