AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT CREW'S SELFISHNESS HURTS DISABLED TRAVELER - 4

WHEELCHAIR SEVERELY DAMAGED BY UNCARING GROUND CREW AFTER AMERICN AIRLINES FLIGHT CREW REFUSES TO MOVE ITS LUGGAGE TO ACCOMMODATE ONBOARD WHEELCHAIR STORAGE

Editor's note: We arrived home on Dec. 31 from a week in Mexico City. The City was great, our Hotel -- the St.Regis -- was spectacular but the flight getting there was a nightmare caused by American Airlines employees who are abusive toward the needs of disabled travelers. It is no wonder why this carrier is in banktruptcy. We will share our tale of disability discrimination during the next several days. The postings are in the form of a letter to American Airlines, which has not even been addressed -- despite the urgency of our complaints.

Upon arrival in Mexico City, the crew brought up a broken chair.

My wife’s lightweight chair has a canvas seat that folds. There are metal rods inside that hold the seat in place.

Plastic caps on the outside of the metal tubes hold the rods inside.

The plastic cap had been knocked off while my wife’s chair was stored.

Because of this, the rod that holds the seat in place slid out, rendering the wheelchair unusable– on Christmas Day upon arrival in a foreign country.

Anguished, I chided the crew for being so selfish as to not move a couple bags into empty overhead bins for the sake of a disabled traveler.

I did not curse, but I’m sure my voice was raised, considering how upset I was. I was told the chair was fine, but when I placed my hand where she sits, it fell right through.

If my wife had believed this line of lies and tested the chair, she would have fallen and broken her leg.

I complained more – emphatically but not threatening in any way – and was told I would be taken into custody if I didn’t accept the chair as-is.