Virgin Blue: Toddler Locked In Overhead Bin
 

From MSNBC:

A Virgin Blue flight attendant was fired after an angry mother claimed he locked her toddler son in an overhead bin, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.

Natalie Williamson told the newspaper that she, her 17-month-old son, Riley, and her now estranged husband were traveling on a Virgin flight from Fiji to Sydney, Australia, when the flight attendant picked up Riley, placed him in the overhead bin and shut the door.

Virgin confirmed that the incident did occur but said Williamson's husband was playing a peek-a-boo game with Riley when the flight attendant joined in.

"We conducted a thorough investigation of the incident and the staff member involved was subsequently terminated," a Virgin spokeswoman told the Herald Sun.

Williamson said that Virgin Blue offered her free flights, but she said she is too shaken by the incident to redeem them.

"My husband, Shayne, was standing one meter behind my son, Riley, when the air steward picked him up and placed him in the overhead compartment," she told the Herald Sun.

"I stood up and there were people laughing and then I said 'Get my son out of there now'," she said.

"I was devastated. I was absolutely devastated."
Williamson said Riley was locked in the compartment for about 10 seconds in complete darkness.

Riley, now 20 months, has seen various specialists since the incident, said Williamson, and is suffering from anxiety and withdrawal.

"He won't leave my sight now. He sleeps with me. If I'm not in the same room as him, he will scream and yell 'Mum, mum, mum,' " she said.

The Virgin spokeswoman said that "the safety of our guests is our top priority."

"We have expressed our sincere apologies to the guest and have provided them with a credit for the full amount of the two return flights."

Mum Natalie Williamson outraged after Virgin crew allegedly locked tot in overhead locker | Herald Sun

NOT that I condone the FA's action (by any means), but kids take their cues off of their parents.

Because the Mom is so "devastated" and making such a big deal out of this, the kid is too. If the parents had simply downplayed the incident in front of their child it wouldn't have been a big 'life altering' issue that required "various specialists".

20 seconds? Seriously? My toddler daughter closed herself in a dark closet for longer than that and hasn't had any apparent emotional distress. Hell, she did a swan dive off of the couch the other day and hit her head on the coffee table. While I was concerned for her (and she cried), I jumped up, laughed a bit at her while I consoled her and she was back up and running within a minute (despite having a good egg on her forehead).

I have to agree with you...10 seconds should NOT be that traumatic unless the parents are doing something to make it a far bigger deal than it really is.

I wonder if Rileys father departing the scene may have had more of an effect than being in an overhead for ten seconds ?

Hmmm ..... ?

I'm torn- on the one hand, it's nice to know that the USA is not the only overly-litigious nation. On the other hand, this kid will never grow up to be a well-adjusted adult because mommy has made him afraid of darkness greater than nine seconds.

I'd been away from Australia for 15 years (11 Spent in the US) before I came back here to fly for VB and I can't say I'm overly impressed by my countrymen.

It's become a society where there is absolutely no accountability. It's always someone else's fault and there's always some wanker who's happy to report you or write you up.

Probably estranged because he couldn't take any more or Natalie's looney-toon #### (substitute another word for "stuff").

Clearly just a case of grabbing the wrong person. I suspect the FA actually intended to lock psycho Natalie in the bin for the duration of the flight - anyone who would make such a fuss over this is undoubtedly a high maintenance PITA. Here Natalie, have a nice hot cup of ****...

Imbecile.

Do not make such a bad comments about this child and an incident. Usually, the people trust the crew in a sense. A mother had a right to act this way, its her child. How can you lock someone for 20s, considering a fact that it was an airplane the kids are afraid to fly. They had right to fire this flight attendant. One can be fired for stealing, for the contents of emails, for having fun worldwide. I had such a incidence. A case had ended up at two criminal departments if not at three due to official aunt. When someone thought that he can run his double life once as a normal citizen other on internet a member of the crew desperate for a job spoke with London a family of my. It started this way in general now, I started to have doubts about the content of emails, but I was after mourn, and thought about Vagabond, but then again hence, my thought are hysterical I thought. I like Vagabond because she was flying in an area I am also from Africa a little bit above Zulu and looked at the pictures of my plane with blond hair I love Africa. And every time I thought about a recession within the airlines, about Africa about flying in Africa and etc,,, Again became anxious about the contents that they are no longer acceptable. Again thought God y brother is a capt within the same company, it is not possible. I am over exaggerating. Again, started to share the doubts. Watched couple of the criminal movies, never ever thought that I will be part of this mess. What happened one would not even imagine at a worst scenario,,,, usually in such a cases one is restricted to enter a territory when a crime took place, then again is being suspended, then is being blocked from the lovers worldwide the police is reading the emails immediately they can prove that the lovers are also taking part in stealing of others and their items and with restriction of entering Eu my aunt said so it goes immediately for the lover ins connections. I would definitely not bother mum at all for over reacting. I thought that oh well I like to fly with my capt brother got everything what I need .Never ever thought that it will end this way never at all. It happened couple months ago. There will be a new flight attendant lets do not think in bad terms about the mother of a child, its a baby, it is different to be locked at home then on a plane.

MeLu,
What do you mean?
Please explain with more detail.

Say what?!? Sorry - I didn't understand a bloody bit of that (or what the devil it has to do with anything), except that you think we shouldn't blame the mother.

Please don't just spare us the pain.

Yea, that was was a bit off the wall MeLu.

Kenny, the flight was from Fiji to Sydney. . . was that you guy's or us? I hadn't heard of it, just noticed it now (I've been away) and will have to check around; sounds like an interesting story.

...hehehe, just trying to get some clarification :D

The negligence had taken place. A mother not at all is not making a big deal out of it she just had mentioned what her child goes through. A child was locked in a c, for whatever duration of time. If you take a closer look at this, during these seconds one can receive a heart attack even. It is a truth to say that there is a high recession going on within the airlines and people act in unusual way, one is closing a child in a c, other is stealing. In such a case the airlines have the highest right to fire a person. Imagine your child being closed in a comp, by some flight attendant, I believe you would call a police for sure. The mother said she feels devastated only this, this is a plane still. The mother was absolutely not making any " revenge" on this particular flight attendant. If you would fly in a cockpit of this plane and it would have been your child and your wife, for sure one would had said to a flight attendant Sorry that was your last flight. The reports of the mother I am sure had not had made her happy at all. When you face such a situation really and one is talking with a police then a voice is shivering, and is full of the remorses at the same time is trying to understand this other person there are cases at which police must get involved because people act this way. Because parents feel that the flight attendant had made fool of their child, you know this is again a plane. Again, even in Africa we had a good time, having farms, and flying, even in Africa people would tell to this flight attendant to the compartment you can put the dolls, instead of a baby child. People are sensitive really, I am not saying over sensitive but still are. My capt brother would say to a flight attendant to live the plane at the earliest stop over really, just live will be better for the both parties. My capt brother told me how its all work, people are out of jobs for no reason are waiting for a job within a cockpit and suddenly others are having funs just for funs.

No, because I'm not a loon.

Actually, my kids would think playing in the overhead bin would be a hoot. Certainly no one would want to be locked in it for an extended period of time, but we're talking about a few seconds here, not minutes.

One of my best pals stuck HIS toddler in the overhead bin. Funniest snapshot ever.

The point I'm confused about is where the mother and father were when the FA picked up the toddler and put him in the overhead. And how they could allow the FA to close the overhead. And how they could not open the overhead for those 10 long seconds.

At some point a toddler will start thinking being put in a closed space is not funny. And it may well be in under 10 seconds. But being traumatized by getting stuck in an overhead for a few seconds is not a plausible outcome. Firing the FA seems to be unwarranted. Obviously the company scapegoated him in the vain hope that it would appease the whack job mother.

The company, and the FA owe her nothing more than an apology for playing with her kid and trying to make his flight a little more pleasant. And assurances that next time you fly the crew will be sure to be surly and tell you to stay in your seat with your belt fastened from the time you board until the door is opened at the destination.

:)Think the way you wish in this case it will never change a fact that that was a negligence. And for such a negligence one is responsible on his own. Why not to think about the parents? defending a waiter? Such are rules. An apology? For what? What can one benefit from a waiter? Really what? I would really focus the attention on the parents really I would. In Australia its similar as in Africa, people will never forget such a negligence at all. My capt brother said that unfortunately, as pointed the negligence will occur more often. It is great to hear that somebody has a child and a child bla bla bla had fallen down from sofa or closed himself in a closet this is at a private property but not at a public place. And such a incident must be notified. Do not say that that you are not a loon, it has nothing to do with it. As mentioned any contact with a police or a report is frustrating for both parties yes it is. The parents were enough frustrated so they were unable to open the c, like shaking hands and etc,,, Later they are returning back to their place, and people talk like you know I had such a tough day , the baby was shut in a comp, then if not reported the people around would start to wonder, like what kind of mother is it and etc.... Like why a mother is not trusting a police and etc???? Yes, it is a terrible thing to report a negligence or any contact with a police since the parents feel as victim one more time in this case first they reported its a must, then hearing these comments make a situation really worst. One must trust someone like authority and etc... When I had a tough case, I thought about Kenny about this green grass. Like something is wrong is definitely wrong, a person from my relative company only other place is not feeling as oriented in a good way only is a professional in negligence that was a biggest shock I had ever faced.But I was covering myself after a mourn ah I thought only about Africa, what a great pilots we were even helicopters me so young on a farm with long blond hair what a amazing history and my farm, ah this life, these farms, this freedom and kindness and these lions. I love lions. Most of the time they are suspending a person and a person is under a watchdog of an authority, not because the parents or me we were bad or loon, no, is because we were robbed or because the family member was hurted. Look at Kenny her posts are clear and nice, so again I told that sometimes grass is green. Just sometimes..Why would a person being so much interested in flying to US? To rob others there? Really? Seiously? So perhaphs would be better to calm down a little bit with this situation. Negligence is a negligence. Sometimes a police is protectvie they know more then we think they really do. It is never a happy thing or a day, sometimes a frustration can last for even a year and indolence.But, then I thought about lions.

Yeah. Me, too.

Well, to each his own - personally I would have thought about the Steelers or the Packers. I mean really, when was the last time Detroit had decent team? But then I thought about Tolstoy. Then I thought about Big Bird. Then I thought about toenail fungus. Then I thought about lunch...

Hey Kenny, Empty your message inbox. I want to send you a PM.

WileyTwo

All done. PM me when you get a chance.

Poor kid was going to be a Nobel Prize winner, but will now be homeless and out of work due to this 10 seconds of unbelievable trauma!

Give me a break! People are out of their minds.......

The kids real trauma is because he has an absent father who left his nut case mother. Sad, sad, sad!

Father of a child perhaps was a little bit "absent". I spoke with my capt cousin brother and he told me that it is a negligence, he is very sensitive about the others. Certainly, this flight attendant was not deriving from the elites. For many years in various countries if one wished to be a flight attendant then had to be from the elites. If someone had or have a traumatic experience usually is escaping to the "good people", I told my capt brother a cousin I escaped to L, and to V and I feel much better. But I prefer to stay with helicopters.Yes, so this baby is a poor child, since actually if we look at the airlines at current many of them became like low cost ones, and at the low costs one no one cares...Or like if we look at some of the flight attendants coming from Africa or Asia working for the same c as others, we can notice they are being treated as s... Yes, and for many years many people thought that they can feel better then people in Asia or Africa and thought that they have a right to do whatever they wish just because its some.... A country only respecting the elites if respecting. When it comes to a final, one should never be surprised when A or Africa has a right to say bye bye and implement the restriction of entering its territory. That what I told my capt brother cousin because that how I felt. So if something was wrong with a flight attendant then the airlines have right to fire this person and it is better to live this baby alone, and its mother. It already had happened.