"I'm thinking 'Where could she be?' They had no clue," he said. "You lose luggage. You lose keys. You don't lose a child."

Little girl lost: 11-year-old put on wrong flight endures 18-hour ordeal

07/18/2001

Arizona Republic

PHOENIX – America West Airlines is scrambling to explain how an 11-year-old girl, flying alone from Los Angeles to Detroit, ended up crisscrossing the country for 18 hours.

Aunnalise Woods was placed on the wrong flight in Phoenix and wound up flying to Orlando, Fla., instead of Detroit. The airline then sent her to Detroit via Las Vegas, the only available connection.

Aunnalise, who had left Los Angeles a little before 10 a.m. on Saturday, finally arrived in Detroit at about 7 a.m. Sunday.

Detroit is in a time zone that's ahead of California by three hours.

An airline representative said an escort assigned to Aunnalise put her on the wrong plane.

"The gates for the two departing flights were right next to each other. There was a very short connecting time, and the escort took her to the wrong flight," spokeswoman Patty Nowack said.

Aunnalise, who was flying for the first time, was headed for a visit with her father, Bill McDaniel. She lives in Los Angeles with her mother, Alicia Blake, and her grandmother, Mary Hawkins.

Aunnalise's mother and grandmother had paid a $60 round-trip fee to cover the cost of supervising unaccompanied minors during the flights and escorting them to connecting flights. The children wear a special pin identifying them as unaccompanied minors.

Ms. Hawkins said Monday that America West officials tried to "minimize the situation."

"They felt that we were too upset," Ms. Hawkins said. "I could not believe it. I am devastated."

Mr. McDaniel couldn't be reached for comment, but he told CNN on Monday that he "just freaked" when he went to the airport to pick up his daughter and she wasn't on the plane.

"I'm thinking 'Where could she be?' They had no clue," he said. "You lose luggage. You lose keys. You don't lose a child."

Mr. McDaniel described America West employees as "rude and unprofessional" and said airline officials had not called him to apologize or to ask how his daughter was doing.

Mr. Sabourin said, however, that America West officials talked with Mr. McDaniel at the airport in Detroit on Saturday night and tried to contact him all day Monday.

He said the airline gave Mr. McDaniel $400 worth of vouchers and plans to refund Aunnalise's ticket price and offer more compensation for future travel.

America West, like most airlines, allows children ages 5 to 11 to fly alone. Children between 5 and 7 can fly alone only on direct flights while those 8 to 11 are allowed on flights that require them to change planes.

Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group, said that although an estimated 7 million children fly alone every year, "this is the first instance I've heard of in quite some time. Great care is taken by airlines, and normally their policies work very well."

Distributed by the New York Times News Service. Knight Ridder Newspapers contributed to this report.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Answers

This ain't NEWS. A RARE mistake was made, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next will be the million dollar lawsuit to right this terrible injustice! Which will be funded by our money in the form of higher ticket prices.

Thanks for helping promote the increase Charlie!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

what's the purpose of posting this story? She wasn't hurt. Nothing happened.

Brett

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2001

The purpose?

"I'm thinking 'Where could she be?' They had no clue," he said. "You lose luggage. You lose keys. You don't lose a child."

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2001

At least this was "mere" human error, not air-rage. IMO, the guy who dumped on the flight attendent's food cart still takes the cake. (maybe he dumped on the cake too)

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2001

Not as uncommon as they want us to believe. Today I heard about a boy who was lost flying too. Perhaps they keep these incidents quiet.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2001

When airlines misplace children

July 25, 2001, 10:45 PM

SEATTLE – For the second time this month, America West temporarily lost a child.

Ten-year-old Cody Sherill left Sea-Tac to visit his grandparents in Ohio. He got there safe and sound. But when he left Ohio to see his dad in San Diego, America West changed his flight and neglected to tell anyone about it. Apparently the flight had mechanical problems, so America West put Cody on a flight to Phoenix instead, with a connecting flight to San Diego.

Brian Sherill was worried waiting anxiously at the San Diego airport. His son Cody, who lives with his mom in Sammamish, was missing.

Cody finally arrived – 5½ hours late.

It’s the second time this month that America West lost children. Two weeks ago, Aunnalisse Woods was reunited with her dad after she was put on the wrong flight, having to zigzag across the country for 18 hours.

America West is taking a long, hard look at how it treats children who fly alone.

An estimated 7 to 8 million children in America fly alone each year. Most airlines will escort small children for a fee of $30 to $60.

If your child flies alone, make sure he or she carries identification, cash, change for the phone and phone numbers.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2001

Too bad these kids have to fly alone to see a parent.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2001

This child was in my kids class last year. The thought that she was lost for that length of time is horrifying! It brings it home when you know that child. Think of the children in your life...

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2001