Airline Apologizes After Disabled Man Crawls Off Flight at Reagan National Airport

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A disabled man from D.C. who had just returned from a conference in San Francisco about disability rights had to crawl off a United Airlines flight at Reagan National last week after waiting 30 minutes for a special wheelchair to help him get off the flight, according to a report by CNN.

D’Arcee Neal, who has cerebral palsy, was waiting for a special aisle wheelchair on the plane Tuesday night when he finally gave up and began to crawl off the plane because he had to use a restroom at the airport. He told CNN that none of the flight attendants assisted him and instead watched him crawl off the flight to get to a regular-size wheelchair waiting outside the plane.

Neal, 29, was returning from a speaking engagement about accessible transportation for people with disabilities at the time of the incident.

“I mean, it’s humiliating. No one should have to do what I did,” Neal told NBC-4.

United Airlines issued a statement: “As customers began to exit the aircraft, we made a mistake and told the agent with the aisle chair that it was no longer needed, and it was removed from the area,” the airline said. “When we realized our error -- that Mr. Neal was onboard and needed the aisle chair -- we arranged to have it brought back, but it arrived too late.”

The representative told Neal the manager on duty was suspended. He also offered Neal $300 in compensation, which Neal says he accepted, CNN reported.

Neal says he never made a complaint, and his story only drew attention because he posted on Facebook that he was happy United reached out to him.

Read more about disability rights when traveling here: http://www.disabilitytravel.com/airlines/air_carrier_act.htm

PHOTO of D’Arcee Neal from Facebook page