Southwest Airlines Refuses Plea from Woman

[melloman]

A Wisconsin woman is looking for answers after she said Southwest Airlines refused to let her use her cellphone to make a call that could have saved her husband's life.

On April 3, Karen Momsen-Evers was flying back to Milwaukee after a girls’ trip in New Orleans. Right before takeoff, she received a text from her husband that read: “Karen, please forgive me for what I am about to do, I am going to kill myself…”

"I started shaking and I was panicked," Momsen-Evers told FoxNews.com. "I texted him ‘no, 'no,’ and he responded, 'yes, because I have to.'"

The text reached her just as flight crew were finishing cabin checks, but she said she knew the text was "serious" because her husband, who'd been very stressed recently, never threatened suicide before. She said that she told a male flight attendant what was happening and showed him the text messages.

"The steward slapped the phone down and said 'you have to put that in airplane mode. We were pushing away from the gate,'" Momsen-Evers recalls. The unidentified crew member explained that it was “FAA regulations.”

Helpless, Momsen-Evers waited until airborne to reach out to another flight attendant for help and asked if they could make an emergency call from the cockpit.

"I showed her the texts. She said that she there is nothing she could do and that they could not disturb the pilot. They offered me a drink, that was it," says Momsen-Evers. "I just wanted someone to go and try to save him.”

Momsen-Evers says she spent the duration of the two-hour flight sobbing in her seat and was only able to call police after the plane arrived at the gate in Milwaukee. But when Momsen-Evers arrived home she was met by officers who told her that her husband Andy had already taken his life.

Later, Momsen-Evers called the airline through customer service to see if there was anything she could have done. She said she was told that FAA rules prevented cellphone use during flights. Her friend, who bought the tickets on with her own miles for Momsen-Evers, was later offered a refund. Momsen-Evers said she has not been in touch with the airline since then.

In response to the incident, Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King sent FoxNews.com the following statement:

"We are extremely saddened to learn of Mrs. Evers’ loss, and the Southwest Family extends our deepest condolences. While I am unable to offer specifics on this situation, Southwest Airlines transports more than 100 million Customers a year and it's not uncommon for our Crews to assist passengers with life events. Our Employees utilize their training to handle a wide variety of situations to the best of their ability – while assisting the up to 100 plus passengers onboard and executing Safety procedures to prepare a flight for departure and for arrival. Again, our hearts go out to the Evers' Family during this difficult time. "

The airline had earlier released this statement to the local news outlet WMTJ:

"Our hearts go out to the Evers family during this difficult time. Our flight attendants are trained to notify the Captain if there is an emergency that poses a hazard to the aircraft or to the passengers on-board. In this situation, the pilots were not notified."

Momsen-Evers says she understands that the crew needed to consider the safety of everyone on board her flight, but says more could have been done to possibly save her husband's life.

"No one could say if it would have made a difference, but I just wanted someone to do a well- check where the police could check on someone suicidal," she said. "I wasn’t looking to get off or stop the airplane. I was just looking for someone to make a phone call."

Sauce: Widow: Southwest prevented me from calling my suicidal husband | Fox News

tl;dr:
-Woman gets text from husband saying he's going to commit suicide
-Woman only able to get text saying "no don't"
-Stewardess' tell woman to put phone into airplane mode
-Won't let woman make call once in mid-flight
-Plane lands, calls cops, cops say husband already killed himself

Wonder if a lawsuit is going to come of this..

[Hondaracer]

If it was that serious and she was convinced it was life or death why didn't she just get up and say it out loud to people around her, delay or get off the flight?

Sick of all this after the fact shit running to news outlets with their sob stories.

[123654123]

^this.

She didn't go the extra mile to save his life. If it were me fck everyone esle on the plane. I would have been selfish enough to delay that flight to save someone close to me.

[smoothie.]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

If it was that serious and she was convinced it was life or death why didn't she just get up and say it out loud to people around her, delay or get off the flight?

Sick of all this after the fact shit running to news outlets with their sob stories.

some people arent as creative or.... loud?

her asking for help the way she did should've been enough.

that really sucks

[fliptuner]

What kind of asshole texts his wife, right before she gets on a plane, that he's going to kill himself?

[Gnomes]

Wife should have gotten off the plane immediately before the plane took off (was still pushing away from the gate at that time?)

[smoothie.]

Originally Posted by ICE BOY

What kind of asshole texts his wife, right before she gets on a plane, that he's going to kill himself?

could be one from the hired hitman, planned with the wife.

[fishCak3s]

I personally wouldn't go on a guy's trip if I know my significant other is recently unstable or very stressed.

[Mikoyan]

Originally Posted by fishCak3s

I personally wouldn't go on a guy's trip if I know my significant other is recently unstable or very stressed.

Sometimes you just don't know, especially if they hide it well. Like the German pilot in that air crash recently.

Chances are if the husband planned it out that way, he did it this way so she couldn't do anything about it.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by melloman

Wonder if a lawsuit is going to come of this..

Law suits start in the states when someone has a hard shit after eating at a restaurant. So I can almost guarantee some sort of legal action will result from this. Especially after the news picks it up, greedy lawyers are going to be gushing over this case contacting the lady to sue.

[snails]

thats pretty intense that an exception couldnt be made but at the same time these flight attendants probably deal with so much shit and people trying to use their phones that they have grown insensitive or believed the woman could have been lying

suicide is a tricky subject, i have dealt with it within my immediate family and its hard to tell when the glass is finally going to be full with some people

in my case we were left a note, its a powerless feeling but whats done is done. i think telling someone is alot more greedy as they still have a "chance" of helping and in this case she will live the rest of her life imagining a different outcome if only she could have made that phone call.

regarding the decision made, like i mentioned above. it was just the guys time he felt

if someone is in that much pain for whatever reason they decide the good no longer outweighs the bad then its really up to your point of view if its better or worse for the person making the decision. of course its greedy if you consider the pain the family is going to suffer but its greedy if we expect everyone to live their life in a pain that would make them even consider suicide

[vafanculo]

As much as I want to find a way to blame the airline..I can only blame her. It's like she took the no as "okay (sad meme face).

She should have kicked and screamed. Done anything to get the attention of someone willing to do anything.

Those flight attendants though should be fired. You have a text saying someone is going to kill themselves and just brush it off.

[underscore]

^ why should they be fired? People try to pull all kinds of lies to use their phones on a plane.

In the time that it took her to send "no, no" and for him to reply, she could've been making that call or moving to get out of the plane. Why would the flight attendants believe it's serious when you're just sitting there texting?

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

If it was that serious and she was convinced it was life or death why didn't she just get up and say it out loud to people around her, delay or get off the flight?

Sick of all this after the fact shit running to news outlets with their sob stories.

A-FUCKING-MEN!!!

[snails]

Originally Posted by vafanculo

Those flight attendants though should be fired. You have a text saying someone is going to kill themselves and just brush it off.

why though, homeless people go into mcdonalds all the time and ask for food and their employees are trained to send them out the door, if its protocol they are just doing their job. of course it might not be ethical and we may think down upon them for the decision they made but regarding their job.. they did their job

[dyan]

Originally Posted by vafanculo

Those flight attendants though should be fired. You have a text saying someone is going to kill themselves and just brush it off.

Its according to most airline's SOP and FAA rules that cell phones aren't used.

[twitchyzero]

the situation definitely could've been handled better

for the lady she should've kicked and screamed
the staff could've asked the pilot to contact the tower to make a call to the police, no? either way, they were just doing their job.

sad situation but sounds like the husband made up his mind long ago...now she's gonna live with the rest of her life in what if's.

Originally Posted by fishCak3s

I personally wouldn't go on a guy's trip if I know my significant other is recently unstable or very stressed.

yeah that was pretty selfish of her /s

[Spoon]

So the airline should be sued because if she got off the plane and was able to call; assuming he picks up. She would totally have been able to convince a person who was determined to kill himself not to?

[corollagtSr5]

Could have locked herself in the washroom and made the call.

[dahonga]

Originally Posted by corollagtSr5

Could have locked herself in the washroom and made the call.

Flight attendants would just unlock it from the outside.
She should have called using a headset with ear buds which are allowed on take off and landing for music.

[vafanculo]

Originally Posted by snails

why though, homeless people go into mcdonalds all the time and ask for food and their employees are trained to send them out the door, if its protocol they are just doing their job. of course it might not be ethical and we may think down upon them for the decision they made but regarding their job.. they did their job

That's true. But this isn't a person asking for a burger. This is a person saying she's got proof that someone's about to end their life.

I'm not saying they should have allowed her to keep on texting. Take away her cell phone..but contact the cops. If at the end of the day the cops find out she was lying so she could send out a couple extra text messages to her friends, they can then prosecute her for whatever "lying to x agency" law there is.

If some one makes a claim like that at my job, I've got no issue with calling the cops. Not so much because I want to save someone from offing themselves, but more so because I don't want to be held liable in any way.

[snails]

Originally Posted by vafanculo

That's true. But this isn't a person asking for a burger. This is a person saying she's got proof that someone's about to end their life.

I'm not saying they should have allowed her to keep on texting. Take away her cell phone..but contact the cops. If at the end of the day the cops find out she was lying so she could send out a couple extra text messages to her friends, they can then prosecute her for whatever "lying to x agency" law there is.

If some one makes a claim like that at my job, I've got no issue with calling the cops. Not so much because I want to save someone from offing themselves, but more so because I don't want to be held liable in any way.

no im aware, im speaking in regards to people losing their jobs vs whats ethical

unfortunately this isnt black and white and i was just using it as an example

[carisear]

or she could've, i dunno, called 911 and quickly said "go to 123 abc my husband is suicidal" before an attendant came by?

i've never seen anyone "slap" a phone out a persons hand on a plane. pretty easy to make a 5 second call during takeoff if you really wanted to ...

[punkwax]

Not sure if a lot of you just read the tl;dr part, but seeing as none of us were there, we can't really say she didn't do enough.

"I started shaking and I was panicked,"

"The steward slapped the phone down and said 'you have to put that in airplane mode. We were pushing away from the gate,'"

"I showed her the texts. She said that she there is nothing she could do and that they could not disturb the pilot. They offered me a drink, that was it,"

Offering her a drink to cope is a fucking insult.

I have sympathy for her. I could not imagine the grief. There are timid people in the world who just don't have it in them to make a scene or be anything but compliant. Planes are sensitive environments these days as well...

The husband is to blame, not the airline, but I think a little more compassion should have been shown to this poor woman!

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by vafanculo

As much as I want to find a way to blame the airline..I can only blame her. It's like she took the no as "okay (sad meme face).

She should have kicked and screamed. Done anything to get the attention of someone willing to do anything.

Those flight attendants though should be fired. You have a text saying someone is going to kill themselves and just brush it off.

why should they be fired. So many times I been on planes the the next person just keep using their phone even when the flight attendant is standing right beside them asking them please shut off your phone. These ppl don't even care till the flight attendant is about to take their phone away then they shut off their phone.

Also just coz someone send you a text saying they are going to do something crazy doesn't mean they will do it. The flight attendant have no way to verify if the text message was serious or is a joke. And they most likely deal with a lot of case where the passengers just refuse to shut off their phone and came up with different excuse.

What the lady should have done is let the flight attendant know there is a serious issue and she needs to use her phone if they don't allow her she have to get off the plan ASAP. She didn't go the extra bit. If she wants to talk to her husband she would have find a way to do so. I feel sorry for the lost of her husband but there are more she could have done for sure if she knows this is serious.