Southwest passenger accuses airline of losing her 97-year-old mother's prosthetic foot

Erin Donnelly
·Yahoo Life Senior Editor

In more bad news for the airline in the wake of its first flight fatality, a passenger is saying Southwest Airlines lost her luggage, which held a new prosthetic foot for her 97-year-old mother — and won’t offer a full refund.

Tampa, Fla., affiliate WFLA reports that Margaret Crawford was flying from Tampa International Airport to visit her elderly mother in Belize on March 30. When she landed, she discovered her luggage — including the prosthetic foot she says she paid $75 to transport — was missing.

Crawford says the airline was unable to locate the foot during her Belize visit, and only tracked it down in Atlanta after she had returned home to Florida. Her mother, meanwhile, has had no choice but to make do with her old prosthesis, which is held together by duct tape.

“I wanted to witness my mom putting on that shoe, I wanted to dance with her, just to hold her and see that excitement and listen to her laughter,” Crawford told WFLA.

“My fear is that when she is walking in the [one] duct-taped to a shoe that she can fall, and if she falls at 97, that is like saying that is the end” she added.

Crawford’s frustration intensified when the airline refused to refund the money (reportedly more than $500) she spent on her flight. She says it only offered her half that amount, and she cannot afford to buy another flight to deliver the prosthesis.

“I made a lot of sacrifice to make that trip, and I am expecting Southwest to do the right thing — for them to get me back there with my luggage so I can see my mom with her foot — and I would like it while she is still alive,” she said.

“I feel like they robbed me and it’s the principle. In today’s technology, they should not lose luggage for two weeks.”

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