Pilot holds flight for man going to see dying grandson
 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/01/14...iref=allsearch

Heartwrenching story- really put a lump in my throat. I wish I could shake the pilot's hand and thank him for going above and beyond and doing the right thing...

(CNN) -- Time was running out, and Mark Dickinson wasn't sure whether he'd get to see his dying 2-year-old grandson one last time. A long line at Los Angeles International Airport's security checkpoint had kept him from getting to his gate on time.

His grandson Caden would be taken off life support in a matter of hours in Denver, Colorado, with or without his grandfather's presence, according to CNN affiliate KABC.

"I was kind of panicking because I was running late, and I really thought I wasn't going to make the flight," Dickinson told KABC.

That's when a pilot from Southwest Airlines stepped up and held the flight at the gate until Dickinson arrived. The pilot was standing by the jetway waiting for him when Dickinson arrived in socks, so rushed that he just grabbed his shoes at security and ran through the terminal.

"I told him, 'Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that.' And he said, 'No problem. They can't leave without me anyway,' " Dickinson told KABC.

Authorities say Dickinson's grandson, Caden Rodgers, suffered a head injury after his mother's boyfriend threw him across the room. The boyfriend reportedly told police he was drunk and high on marijuana at the time. The child later died and the boyfriend has been charged with first-degree murder, according to the Aurora Sentinel.

Dickinson's wife had called Southwest and asked them to hold the plane. After the flight, Dickinson said, he wanted to thank the pilot again for his serious display of empathy but didn't get the chance. Dickinson made it to Colorado in time to say goodbye to his grandson.

"I would just tell him that I can't tell him how grateful I am that he did that for me," he said.

Most airlines would punish any staff member who holds up a flight, according to consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who broke the story of the compassionate pilot on his blog. However, a Southwest spokeswoman said the pilot's actions were exemplary.

"You can't hold a plane for every late customer, but I think we would all agree that these were extenuating circumstances and the pilot absolutely made the right decision," Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said. "I don't think you could ask for a better example of great service for our customers."

Though the airline has identified the pilot who held the plane for Dickinson, the pilot has asked that his name not be released to the public.

"As you're reading the story, you absolutely get tears in your eyes and just an overwhelming sense of pride that our pilot took such an action," McInnis said. "It really makes you proud to work for Southwest."

Amazing. Hats off to the pilot

southwest kicks ass

That story renews my faith in humanity (the POS who killed the baby excluded of course). I can only hope for swift jailhouse justice for him.

Great story. Good on the pilot, even better than expected response from the airline.

Nice job by the Pilot.




The boyfriend who threw the baby should get his ass beat within an inch of death every single day he's in jail. Who the **** throws a baby?

Great work by both the pilot and airline!

RIP Little One.

Hey, boyfriend: Enjoy prison rape. Hope your ass feels like someone flew a 737 straight up it.

Great story and nice job by he pilot. Even down to not wanting his name released.

Now that boyfriend can get raped with a mace for all I care.

I was telling my wife about this story and had to pause a couple of times to compose myself. Between the pilot's incredible compassion and the family's heartbreaking sorrow, this story really got to me.

I hope the baby-killing b@stard gets everything that's coming to him in the bowels of prison...

Z

This.

Southwest time and again shows themselves to be the best airline in the US.

This!

RIP little Caden and a BIG Thank You to Southwest.

Good for southwest. I've always enjoyed flying with them. I even enjoy the fact that there flight attendendants are snarky and have a sense of humor.
Very sad story, but good on Southwest.

Great to hear from Southwest... most airlines suck...

and **** that drunk idiot boyfriend high and drunk throwing around little kids. WTF.

Damn Bronco fans.

How do I give rep to the pilot?