Written by Zach Wichter, USA Today, July 26, 2023
It could have been worse for Karin Strickland. Her wheelchair was damaged during an April flight on American Airlines, but she said that the fact it happened at all left her shaken.
“I would be considered lucky, which is a weird way to put it because my wheelchair did have damage, I did have issues, but the damage was really minor,” she told USA TODAY. “It was the scariness of not knowing when they brought it to me if it was going to work or not.”
Strickland, 52, who has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, was flying home to Cape Coral, Florida, from a service dog convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 25. After landing in Southwest Florida International Airport, she said her wheelchair was returned to her in banged up pieces.
“I gave it to them all in one piece. They brought it up in three different pieces. They dropped it on the ground upside down and two workers were trying to desperately put it back together,” she said. “I start immediately shaking and trying not to have a panic attack because this expensive piece of machinery is in pieces.”
Strickland noted that her wheelchair is designed to be taken apart for transportation if necessary, but it was not needed on her flight. She said she wound up having to reassemble her wheelchair in the gate area and assess the damage in front of a crowd of passengers waiting to board the next flight.
“They took the pieces and brought them up the gangway and put them in the middle of the gate floor in front of the desk where people would go up and ask questions,” she said. “I got the wheelchair put together while I’m crying and got in it and turned it on and luckily it moved.”
Ultimately, Strickland found that the basket on her wheelchair was the only piece that sustained significant damage, and she was able to get it replaced by Global Repair Group, which contracts with American Airlines, in a matter of weeks.
The airline acknowledged the incident in a statement to USA TODAY.
“We strive to deliver a positive travel experience for all customers who use mobility devices. A member of our team has spoken with the customer to apologize for any inconvenience,” the statement said.
Strickland said that although the damage her wheelchair sustained did not affect her ability to use it, her incident still highlights how airlines have room for improvement when it comes to their handling of mobility devices.
“Wheelchairs aren’t just luggage that can be thrown around,” she said. “They need to be treated as medical equipment, not luggage … People need these to live their lives.”
How common is mobility equipment damage in air travel?
According to the Department of Transportation, airlines “mishandle” on average about 1.5% of the mobility equipment they transport. In 2022, that translated to 11,389 incidents reported by U.S. airlines, up from 7,239 in 2021.