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A disabled woman said in a now-viral video that a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent "snapped [her] cane in half" during an airport security screening.
The video was posted to TikTok over the weekend by Lyn Ventimiglia, who wrote: "Disabled people deserve better than this." It has amassed over 3.8 million views and thousands of comments from disappointed viewers venting frustrations about TSA's handling of "medical and mobile devices." You can view the video here.
"Unfortunately, like so many Americans daily, my cane has been broken by TSA at LAX," Ventimiglia said at the beginning of her video while sitting on a bench outside the airport's security checkpoint.
"As most of you in the disabled community know, our wheelchairs and canes are broken by the hundreds every single day," she continued. "This is something that the TSA needs to stop."
TSA & Handling of 'Medical and Mobile Devices.'
According to The Washington Post, more than 15,000 wheelchairs and scooters have been either lost or damaged by airlines since 2018.
"In 2019, the first full year of reporting, 10,548 wheelchairs or scooters were lost, damaged, delayed or stolen. That amounts to roughly 29 a day," the Washington Post reported. The following year, 2020, that number "plummeted" to 3,464 total damaged and/or lost wheelchairs and scooters, but the airlines also "carried 557 million fewer passengers in 2020 than in 2019," according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Elliot Advocacy also claimed that TSA, specifically, damages canes and wheelchairs weekly; however, the organization didn't provide a concrete number.
"I know from personal experience that when an airline damages a wheelchair, it is more than a simple inconvenience—it's a complete loss of mobility and independence. It was the equivalent of taking my legs away from me again," Senator Tammy Duckworth, a double amputee, said in 2018, according to multiple reports. "No air traveler should be left in the lurch, immobile on a plane."
In her video, Ventimiglia shows viewers her cane's severed inner chord. As a result of the damage, she said, she can no longer adjust the cane's height. In a follow-up video, she added that the cane won't collapse, meaning she can't store it properly on the plane.
"I have a three-day trip ahead and I really don't know how I'm gonna get around," Ventimiglia said. "Great job, TSA...break wheelchairs, break canes...you're essentially breaking our legs [and] breaking our arms, but that doesn't matter, does it?"
TikToker Reactions: 'You Need To Do Better'
Many of Ventimiglia's viewers said they've suffered similar experiences at airports and slammed TSA for its handling of "medical and mobile devices."
"TSA needs to have mandated training courses on how to handle medical and mobile devices. This is ridiculous and deadly," Cheyenne said.
"I'm so sorry!! So typical of airlines and TSA—people have to understand our mobility aids are an extension of ourselves!" Britt exclaimed.
"This happens to my brother EVERY time he has to fly. Delta broke his wheelchair. The last two times he flew, they forced him out of the chair," bridgdemic claimed.
"They took out my liquid medication that has a doctor's note and has to be handled with extreme care, shook it all up. It's literally life or death," Debbie Isaacs said.
Kat Curtis added: "@TSA.GOV literally you need to do better."
Newsweek has reached out to Lyn Ventimiglia, LAX and the TSA for comment.
Another disabled woman said JetBlue broke her wheelchair in April after leaving it on the Tarmac for over an hour.
In May of last year, a Delta flier said the airline broke her wheelchair during the flight.
And sadly, a disability activist died in November from the injuries she sustained after her custom wheelchair was "destroyed" by United Airlines.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more