American Airlines Apologizes to Blind Woman Removed from Flight

American Airlines has apologized to a blind woman who says she and her guide dog were removed from a flight after she asked for a new seat.

Our partners at The Dallas Morning News report Sue Martin was booked on a connecting flight from Washington, D.C. to D/FW International Airport March 1 and discovered her guide dog, a German shepherd, couldn't fit in her assigned row.

WCSH-TV reported a flight attendant told her to speak with an airport agent, who claimed it was against airline regulations for a service dog to be in first class, and she could not move to another row.

Martin returned to the plane, where a first class passenger offered to swap seats with her. Another American employee boarded the plane and asked her to leave, the DMN reported.

The Fort Worth-based airline told the DMN it was investigating the incident. A company spokesman emailed NBC DFW the following statement:

"We apologize to Ms. Martin for the recent experience she had on American Airlines. We take these allegations very seriously, and are thoroughly investigating. We are also in contact with Ms. Martin to gather additional details of what transpired during her recent journey with us."

"Service animals are welcome on all of our flights. American is also a proud supporter of the Puppies in Flight (PIF) program. In conjunction with Assistance Dogs International (ADI), our team members volunteer to become trained to work with assistance dogs and take them on transports and test flights – short turnaround trips. This helps acclimate service animals to air travel."