# Flexibility and common sense with flight rules?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [June 15, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840 "2014-06-15T19:10:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2014, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840/21 "2014-06-16T12:14:54Z")
Most injuries on planes occur on the ground. They do, in fact, jerk and move unpredictably on occasions. Furthermore, the pilot and flight attendants absolutely need to minimize distractions at this time. One distraction may not seem like a big deal, but what about the other 20 cranky people who want something? Suddenly the flight attendants are playing zookeeper rather than focusing on what needs to happen to keep everyone safe.
I can sympathize that you can’t always time the bathroom right with a kid. But pull ups exist for a reason. I’m not blaming mom here, as it seems like a simple miscalculation. But it’s also not the airlines fault.
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### Author:  [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840/22 "2014-06-17T21:45:54Z")
[AOL article](http://www.aol.com/article/2014/06/15/jetblue-apology-to-mom-underscores-bad-week-for-airlines/20912960/)
> [@](#):
>
> a woman was nearly kicked off a JetBlue flight after her 3-year-old daughter urinated in her seat because the flight crew wouldn’t let her use the bathroom while the plane was on the tarmac in New York, according to an account the mother gave Boston’s WBZ-TV.
>
> The woman, Jennifer Deveraux, said that when she got up to clean the mess, a flight attendant reported her to the pilot, who announced that the Boston-bound plane was returning to the gate to bring an out-of-order passenger to security officials. She said she ultimately was allowed to stay aboard.
>
> JetBlue later apologized, she said; the airline said employees would undergo sensitivity training, the station reported.
Personally, I think the pilot made the right choice. If someone doesn’t follow directions from the flight crew, they need to get off the plane. Clearly, they stabilized the situation before takeoff without having to unload the unruly passenger. Maybe they didn’t handle the situation ideally, but the mother is a moron.
The mother is a moron because she thinks it’s more important to clean up a little pee than to follow instructions from a trained crew. Pee happens. It’s not fatal. If, while unbuckled, something had happened and she’d broken her neck and been rendered a quadriplegic, she’d probably sue the airlines.
That said, it’s possible that the pilot and crew might have taken a better option: ask the mother to wait a minute (before the peeing), radio to tower that they’ll be delayed 10 minutes, turn put on the brakes (assuming it’s a place where that’s legal), allowed the mother to take her child to the toilet, and then radioed back “ready” when she’s back in her seat. Of course, this also delays all flights queued up behind.
Is there another option?
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