Outrage grows over video showing American Airlines workers tossing a wheelchair down a baggage chute

A shocking video exposed American Airlines employees for carelessly flinging custom wheelchairs off an aircraft and down a baggage chute while laughing.

In the video taken at Miami International Airport - an employee perched at the top of the wheelchair ramp lazily chucks the devices down the ramp and lets them bounce off the ground. 

Another employee waited at the bottom of the ramp - but made no effort to save the wheelchair after his coworker's reckless behavior.

American Airlines released a statement after video of the incident saying they were investigated and the visuals were 'deeply concerning.'

More than 11,000 wheelchairs, scooters and other disability devices were broken by U.S. airlines in 2022, according to the Department of Transformation.

The now-viral video was uploaded to TikTok by a user watching the employees.

'Dang, after I saw them do this and laugh with the first two wheelchairs I had to get it on film. That is not what I'd call “handling with care” for someone's mobility device,' the uploader captioned her shocking video. 

American Airlines officials defended the airline: '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.'

People were outraged by the video - with many TikTok users raising concern about the price of wheelchairs: 'Thank you for recording and I hope the people sue American Airlines. Those chairs are pricey.'

Another user said: 'Knowing our healthcare system that basic wheelchair was soooooo f****** expensive.'

One posted stated: 'These chairs cost upwards of $3k plus. They aren’t easily replaceable and insurance only covers new chairs every five years.' 

Others were appalled at the lack of care the employees had for their disabled passengers: 'This makes me absolutely rageful. My sisters wheelchair is her lifeline to the able world, American Airlines are you kidding me?'

'That's someone's lifeline. Literally to survive,' a TikTok account said.

Airlines mishandle 1.5 percent of the mobility devices they transport, according to the Department of Transportation.

The DOT reported that 741,582 wheelchairs and scooters were carried and there were 11,389 damages reported.