Airline workers carelessly throw passengers' wheelchairs out of the plane (7 photos + 1 video)
An outrageous video has surfaced online showing American Airlines employees laughing as they push wheelchairs down a ramp. One stands at the top, the second picks up the falling, tumbling and hitting the ground chairs below. A stunning example of caring for passengers! 
In a video taken at Miami International Airport, an employee sitting on top of a wheelchair ramp lazily pushes them off the ramp and lets them bounce off the ground. Another waits at the bottom of the ramp but makes no effort to save the wheelchair from the consequences of his colleague's reckless behavior.
After video of the incident surfaced, American Airlines released a statement saying it had investigated and what was seen was "deeply disturbing."
According to official statistics, more than 11,000 wheelchairs, scooters and other devices for people with disabilities were broken on American airlines in 2022.
The viral video was uploaded to TikTok by a woman who watched the two men work.
“Damn, after watching them do it and laugh with the first two wheelchairs, I had to film it. This is not what I would call careful handling of someone's mobile device,” she captioned her video.
American Airlines representatives defended the airline:
“We understand how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities by ensuring their mobility devices are properly cared for while they travel with us. This video is deeply concerning and we are gathering more information to work with our team to understand the situation. We will continue to work hard to improve the handling of assistive devices across our network.”
People were outraged by the video, with many TikTok users expressing concern about the price of wheelchairs:
“Thank you for recording this and I hope the affected passengers sue American Airlines. These chairs are very expensive,” “These chairs cost up to $3,000. They are not easy to replace, and insurance only covers new chairs every five years.”
Other commentators were most shocked by the airline's lack of concern for disabled passengers:
“It makes me furious. My sister's wheelchair is her lifeline in the disabled world, American Airlines, are you kidding me?" "It's someone else's lifeline. Literally to survive."
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, airlines mishandle 1.5% of the mobility devices they carry. Thus, 741,582 wheelchairs and scooters were transported, and 11,389 cases of damage were recorded.
