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Blind woman says she and service dog were booted from American Airlines flight

FRANKLIN, Maine — A blind woman claims she and her guide dog were asked to leave an American Airlines plane after an employee called her "a danger to the flight."

According to the Portland Press-Herald and WLBZ, Sue Martin, 61, of Franklin, Maine, was traveling to San Diego earlier this month when she tried to take a connecting flight with her husband and service dog from Washington, D.C., to Dallas.

Martin told the Press-Herald that the trouble began when she realized there was no room for her dog, a German shepherd named Quan, near her seat. She then asked a flight attendant and ticketing agent about switching seats or upgrading to first-class but was denied, the Press-Herald reported.

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Martin thought the problem had been solved when a first-class passenger gave her his seat, but then an employee asked her to leave, she said.

"The man said, 'You have to leave the plane,'" Martin told WLBZ. "I asked him why and he said the crew had decided I was a danger to the flight. I've never had anything  happen like this before."

American Airlines said it is "thoroughly investigating these allegations" and takes "all disability complaints very seriously," WLBZ reported.

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