El Al Flight Turns Back for 11-Year-Old Cancer Kid
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A New York-bound El Al flight returned to the terminal gate after its official departure to collect an 11-year-old girl who had been removed from the airplane after she mislaid her passport.
On Wednesday, August 7, Inbar Chomsky of Rehovot was headed to Camp Simcha – Chai Lifeline’s summer camp program for pediatric cancer patients – along with a group of 40 people. After boarding the plane and undergoing extensive medical examinations, Inbar discovered that her passport was missing. When a camp staff member notified the flight crew, a frantic search ensued for over half an hour as the flight attendants, ground control, and fellow passengers examined every inch of the aircraft and gate for the passport. However, when the passport failed to surface, the captain informed Inbar that she would not be able to stay on the flight and a sobbing Inbar was escorted back to the main gate.
“Everyone was in shock, no one knew what to do,” said Elad Maimon, the program coordinator of Chayenu, the Israeli branch of Chai Lifeline. “Taking a little girl off a flight is unheard of, and especially when that girl is sick and has already endured enough hardship. The airline personnel had tears in their eyes. They approached Inbar in the terminal. They bought her water, cried with her.”
Minutes after the plane departed from the gate and began its preparation for takeoff, one of Inbar’s fellow campers found the passport in another girl’s backpack and excitedly reported the find to the flight attendants. In response, the pilots immediately stopped the plane and, after consultation with air control, returned to the gate to pick her up.
For more go to Haaretz
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
