Puppy was put into overhead bin on United Airlines flight — and suffocated, report confirms
A family’s 9-month-old French bulldog puppy that they say was forced into an overhead bin on a United Airlines plane suffocated during the flight, according to a report.
Passengers who witnessed the March incident said a flight attendant had “insisted” that a woman place her dog carrier in the overhead bin as they were boarding the Houston, Texas, flight bound for LaGuardia in New York City. The woman was reportedly assured that the animal would be safe.
ABC News reported that the dog remained in the bin for the three-hour flight and wasn’t given any water. Passengers told PEOPLE the dog barked from the bin for at least 30 minutes. When the owner finally retrieved her, it was too late.
A necropsy report from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, found that the cause of death was suffocation, ABC 7 reported Wednesday.
An attorney for the New York family told the news station the death of the dog, named Kokito, could have been avoided.
"The airline knew that Kokito was on the plane, yet they did nothing to preserve Kokito's safety," attorney Evan Oshan said. "The dog was suffocated. It was entombed in an overhead bin. It was treated like a piece of luggage. It was a living, breathing family member."
Now the family is considering a lawsuit, ABC 7 reported.
United had said in a statement that it assumes “full responsibility” and called the dog’s death a “tragic accident that should have never occurred,” ABC News reported. Two criminal investigations are underway in Texas and New York, ABC 7 reported.
The airline announced Tuesday that it plans to resume shipping pets as cargo in July, but only dogs and cats. Certain breeds, such as pit bulls and bulldogs, will be banned, the Associated Press reported.
United had stopped its pet-shipping business after the March death and other incidents in which dogs were put on the wrong flights, AP reported.
This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Puppy was put into overhead bin on United Airlines flight — and suffocated, report confirms."