Family Rescued At Sea By Moffett Field Team Sues Satellite Phone Company For Cut Service
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- A California family rescued at sea by members of an elite team from Moffett Field is suing their phone company, for cutting them off during an emergency.
Charlotte and Eric Kaufman of San Diego were sailing with their two young children when their one-year-old daughter Lyra got sick on board, hundreds of miles off the coast of Mexico.
The Kaufman's said they tried to call a doctor for advice. But the family said their satellite phone had been cut off, even though they had paid their bill.
In a panic, the Kaufman's alerted the Coast Guard, which led to an expensive rescue. Members of the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard out of Moffett Field took part in rescuing the family.
The family said none of this would have happened if their phone had worked.
"We have friends who are crossing the ocean right now with their families and we want to make sure this never happens to them or anyone else," Charlotte Kaufman told U-T San Diego about their lawsuit.
The family's phone company did not respond to requests for comment by the newspaper.
The Kaufman's were attempting to sail their vessel, called "The Rebel Heart" around the world.