A paralyzed man arrived at his destination unable to leave his seat. That's because he claimed that American Airlines workers forgot to load his wheelchair.
It quite literally left him stranded, unable to move when he arrived to his destination. Speaking with KGUN 9, passenger Sam Shivers explained that he didn't have his wheelchair. "Without my wheelchair, it's like I don't have any legs, I can't get around," Shivers said.
He had flown from Hawaii to Phoenix back in March. Unfortunately, he said that American Airlines didn't pack his wheelchair on the plane. "At that point, I almost felt like throwing up," he said. "I was like, 'oh my god, what am I going to do?' I can't walk, I'm paralyzed from the chest down."
The traveler explained that he checked his wheelchair at the American Airlines gate. However, upon landing, he learned that crew had accidentally put the device on the flight to Los Angeles International Airport. Additionally, it seems that another wheelchair and stroller also didn't make the flight as well. Shiver theorizes that crew didn't store it due to a space issue.
American Airlines Flight
"It's not like we can just hobble around to somewhere else, I can't walk," Shivers said. "So wherever I am, that's where I am."
Shivers praised the American Airlines crew in Arizona while criticizing the crew in Hawaii. The crew offered him a hotel room. However, he realized that wasn't going to help him. "The baggage management team was fine," he said. "They were great, but they couldn't make a wheelchair materialize."
He managed to get from the airport's transport chair to his van and drive home. He had a spare wheelchair at home. Fortunately, they managed to get him his wheelchair back 8 hours after landing. "I want my chair to arrive on time, with my flight," he said. "I want my counterpart, my fellow passenger's chair to end up, and I want the car seat and baby stroller to show up for the family that has an infant."
