American Airlines says it is reviewing a video posted to social media by a person who claims it shows airline workers mishandling wheelchairs on the tarmac at Miami International Airport.
The video shows a worker at the top of a ramp sliding a wheelchair all the way down from what appears to be a jet bridge to ground level where the wheelchair slams into and vaults over a metal barrier, careening onto the pavement.
The video shows another worker wearing an American Airlines employee vest retrieving the wheelchair and loading it aboard a baggage cart. From the video, it's impossible to tell if the wheelchair was damaged.
A statement from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says, if accurate, the incident is unacceptable. "We'll be investigating. This is exactly why we are taking action to protect passengers who use wheelchairs. Everyone deserves to travel safely and with dignity."
The website WheelchairTravel.org has published a comment from Fort Worth-based American Airlines saying "We recognize how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities by ensuring the proper care of mobility devices throughout their journey with us. This visual is deeply concerning and we are gathering more details so that we can address them with our team. We will continue to work hard to improve our handling of assistive devices across our network."
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