Told The Musician The Violin Was Too Big To Be A Carry-On

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine has gone public with her dispute with American Airlines after being denied boarding by a pilot who said she could not bring her instrument on the plane as a carry-on.

The flight was from Chicago, where Pine lives, to New Mexico, where she was scheduled to perform. The instrument is a  Joseph Guarneri "del Gesu" violin made in 1742 and insured for some $20 million.

Pine frequently flies with her violin, which is on lifetime loan from an unnamed donor. She said that FAA and American Airlines policies both say such an instrument can be carried onto an airplane on a first-come, first-served basis as long as it can be stowed properly in an overhead bin or under the seat. But the pilot would not budge. She quoted the pilot as saying It is not going on because I say so."

Rather than check the violin, she chose not to board. Pine told television station KOB that it was not a question of if the instrument would be broken if it were checked, "it will be broken," she said.

Pine was accommodated on another flight, according to the report, and had no trouble with carrying on the instrument.

American Airlines has reportedly reached out to the musician to apologize for the incident.

It is not the first time Pine was denied boarding with a violin. A similar incident occurred in Phoenix last year, and she wound up spending the night in the terminal. In 1995, Pine was seriously injured when a Stradivarius violin she was carrying became trapped in the door of a Metra train. She was attached to the instrument by a strap on the case, and was dragged some 300 feet by the train, losing her left leg in the accident.

(Press image via Facebook)

FMI: www.facebook.com/rachelbartonpineviolinist