THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
Jessica Dubroff's death was tragic and senseless. On a CNN interview taken just moments before her death, I could sense an uneasiness. It made me feel as though she was being pushed to set this flight record. Were these gestures Jessica's cry for help? According to the wire reports, her father ``planted the seed'' in her mind of being the youngest to fly cross-country.
The anguish lies in the fact that no one stopped this flight. If a parent left a 7-year-old home alone ``in charge'' for hours, social services would be at the door because the child would be considered ``in danger.'' The parents would be charged, and the child would be taken into protective custody. Isn't leaving a child ``in charge'' of an aircraft for more hours that she had flight experience insane? The heralded flight was advertised all over the media; yet no one stopped the trip. Social services did not step in.
No 7-year-old really understands the magnitude of danger involved. This child was a victim in more than one sense of the word. There ought to be a Dubroff law in order for this tragedy never to happen again.
BARBARA J. SCHIFFLER
Virginia Beach, April 12, 1996 by CNB