Passenger Kicked Off Flight for Bringing Approved Medical Device He Needs to Live

A Tennessee man said he was kicked off a recent United Airlines flight from Denver to Knoxville after he brought his dialysis machine on board.

Adron Mccarter was visiting family in Spokane, Washington. He told news station WBIR that he had completed extra paperwork to bring the machine—which is used to treat kidney disease—with him while he traveled.

But on his way back home, Mccarter claimed the pilot didn't allow him to fly with it.

"They come across and says we're going to be delayed, so I got up and went out and when I did the pilot was up in my wife's face," Mccarter told WBIR.

"He came across the microphone and said I was trying to bring something on the plane that wasn't allowed and then kicked us off in front of everybody like we were just terrorists," he added.

Mccarter told the station he's had to catch up on treatments following the incident, which took place on October 5.

"It made me sad. I had a full-blown panic attack and it made me infuriated at the same time. You can't treat people that way," he said.

"I'm having to do treatment now. We had to do two in a row so we can get caught up and that's hard on your body and hard on your heart. So overall, it was one of the top three worst experiences of my life."

After he was removed from the flight, Mccarter said he received an apology and was provided with free food and a place to say for the evening.

Mccarter said he wanted to speak about the incident and raise awareness "so this doesn't happen to anybody else."

United Airlines told WBIR that a SkyWest Airlines pilot was flying the plane that Mccarter was on. A spokesperson for SkyWest told Newsweek that there was a misunderstanding about the dialysis machine because a placard attached to it said that it was expressly prohibited for air travel.

In a statement, SkyWest said: "A passenger was rebooked from SkyWest flight 5423 due to a misunderstanding about the approved medical device with which they were traveling."

"Together with United, we provided food, lodging and made arrangements to get the customer to his destination as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and are following up with our SkyWest crew to prevent a similar situation in the future," the airline added.

Newsweek has also reached out to United Airlines for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.