In a heartbreaking video on TikTok, a disabled woman named Gabrielle deFiebre got off her Delta flight to find her power wheelchair had been damaged. Her friend Bri Scalesse documented deFiebre speaking to the airline and explaining how important it is for wheelchair users to have their own set of wheels.
The video began with the Delta employee saying:
"We have means of getting a wheelchair for you."
But deFiebre tried to make them understand her wheelchair is specifically made for her, as these power wheelchairs often are specifically designed for the user.
The on screen text from Scalesse said:
"Today my heart broke watching my best friend sob because Delta broke her wheels."
"She kept repeating, 'This is my life. This is the only way I can live my life.'"
Then deFiebre broke down in tears as they bring her a different wheelchair with the text overlayed:
"People in wheelchairs live in constant fear of airlines breaking our wheelchairs because it happens so often."
"I am so tired of watching my community suffer."
The video sparked outrage in the comments, but also love and support for deFiebre.
Many people tagged Delta Airlines' TikTok account to get their attention.
@soft_heart_studio/TikTok
@postma1one/TikTok
@antonibumba/TikTok
@shaunasiggy/TikTok
@capps39/TikTok
@juliaa.walton/TikTok
@daniartle/TikTok
@.luvbuggy/TikTok
@itzorb/TikTok
User cats_in_boots made an excellent point.
@cats_in_boots/TikTok
While some wheelchair assemblers take about 4 weeks, like All Terrain Medical, some others like Numotion can take 11-25 weeks.
Scalesse did give an update video after the original gained so much traction, reaching 13.4 million views.
In the video, deFiebre said:
"It was obviously devastating to get off the plain and see that my wheels had been completely destroyed. It happens all the time to people and it shouldn't be something that happens."
"Delta says that they will cover the costs of the wheel replacement."
"While wen're in Pheonix I was able to, through our amazing community, find someone who had an extra set of the exact same wheels and I've been able to use that while we're here."
"But when I get home, I will not have the wheels that I used to get around, so hoping that they get replaced soon."
"But again, this shouldn't happen to anyone in our community ever."
Newsweekreported on Delta's comment from their spokesperson:
"We're so sorry that her wheelchair was damaged and have been in touch with her directly to make this right, including support to make repairs to her device."
"We know our customers with disabilities rely on Delta for their travel needs, and we fell short here."
"We're conducting a full investigation of what happened, because we must be better."
This issue has been going on for so long and is so pervasive, with so many lawsuits cropping up across the country, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois—who is a disabled military veteran—added a provision to the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration to make tracking and reporting incidents of wheelchair damage part of the law.
USA Todayreported back in 2019:
"Between January and September—the latest month for which data is available—U.S. carriers reported having mishandled at least 7,747 chairs."
"That's an average of 29 times a day."
The outrage against Deltaalso reached Twitter where people shared their frustration and first hand accounts of damage to their wheelchairs.
.@Delta I see youve broken yet another wheelchair in transit.\n\nWheelchairs are NOT luggage! They\u2019re an extension of an individual user.\n\nIf you would heavily compensate an able bodied customer for breaking their legs mid-flight, the same should be said for breaking a wheelchair.pic.twitter.com/tn2VlIn94p— Taylor Kinnerup (@Taylor Kinnerup) 1621640788
Senator Duckworth shared the video on Twitter as well.
Please watch and share\u2014heartbreaking incidents like these must stop.\n\nI know from personal experience that when an airline damages a wheelchair, it is more than a simple inconvenience. It was like taking my legs away from me again.\n\nEvery traveler deserves dignity and respect.pic.twitter.com/w3bem3vkrL— Tammy Duckworth (@Tammy Duckworth) 1622046354
It's so upsetting. I've had a buddy who is a complete C2 quad lose TWO chairs. It scares me to travel so much.— The Rural Juror (@The Rural Juror) 1621642564
@Delta How are you not going to replace this woman\u2019s wheelchair that your employees are responsible for breaking. It will take her insurance MONTHS to approve a replacement for it!— Britt \u02b0 (@Britt \u02b0) 1621652981
Airlines are awful at handling disabled people's needs. My mom was assured that we could keep my sister's wheelchair on the plane instead of putting it in luggage, but the space for wheelchairs assumes that all disabled people use the standard short wheelchairs that collapse up— baguette bitch (@baguette bitch) 1621701123
which almost no disabled people actually use! So we had to watch from our window as airline workers threw a $500 wheelchair in with children's strollers. They comped us $300 towards a future flight, which expired because we didn't want to fly with that inconvenience/risk again— baguette bitch (@baguette bitch) 1621701340
ableds will never understand how humiliating, embarrassing, and terrifying it is to have an essential mobility aid taken away from them. airlines like @Delta need to stop addressing this as an individual problem and work on how this is ongoing industry-wide ableism.— katherine \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u267f\ufe0f (@katherine \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u267f\ufe0f) 1621664171
Also downright debilitating in some cases, such as a wheelchair. I won't even ask, bc my week is bad enough, but good ol delta is at it again, I guess. It's not even the able bodied people at fault, in general. Its a corporate entity spreading this problem repeatedly. Disgusting— Joss BLM (@Joss BLM) 1621703567
This just seems like such a dehumanizing & traumatic experience. The world needs to do so much more to support disabled people— Lans (@Lans) 1621667201
They broke my daughter\u2018s chair the first time we took her to Disney. They didn\u2019t pay to fix it and insurance didn\u2019t cover it. $1000 out Of my pocket :(— Michelle (@Michelle) 1621683822
These things are not so fragile. They are ment to be sturdy. It's not an accident. You need to actively mishandle it to break it. I can imagine these being thrown around then badly fastened in transit to cargo/in cargo during flight. This should be easily avoidable.— Freimgul (@Freimgul) 1621674095
One possible solution was developed by Shane Hryhorec.
He created a collapsible wheelchair capable of fitting into overhead compartments. However Hryhorec has faced obstacles as well with airlines deciding his wheelchair needs to be classified as luggage and must go in the luggage compartment.
Another possible solution is creating a wheelchair compartment within the plane's cabin.
It's great Delta is taking action to right this incident, but it's important it doesn't happen. It should not take public displays of a disabled community member's trauma on the internet to make change happen.
Though we can only hope the continued public pressure will affirm this issue is finally addressed for future disabled fliers.