(Henrietta, N.Y.) - Overall, despite his disability, Peter Boulay gets around pretty well. However, last summer, when returning from vacation, Boulay says he was left on a United Flight at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
"The usual routine is, you wait until everybody de-boards and then they show up with a straight back chair. You transfer, they take you off, they put you in your own chair." Boulay said. “Ten minutes after everyone deplaned, there's no one there."
"I am the only passenger left on the plane at this point,” he said. “They're cleaning the plane, they're shutting it down."
He said he waited 15-to-20 minutes for a trained escort to help him off the flight, but then took control. "I jumped out of the chair and basically did a running flip over the divider between the plane and the walkway," he said.
The flight crew voluntarily helped him to his next flight, but Boulay can't help but feel neglected. "I was frustrated, I was embarrassed, I was really angry at that point."
Months of communications with the airline and a complaint to the Department of Transportation did little to ease Boulay's mind.
The DOT concluded Boulay didn't indicate that he needed such assistance and cleared the airline of any wrongdoing. "I don't accept that decision at all,” he said. “I totally resent it. I resent the attitude that it's my fault."
The Center For Disability Rights in Rochester has heard Mr. Boulay's story and they stand by its credibility. They've heard so many others like it. Perhaps not quite as dramatic, but certainly similar.
"I want an admittance of fault, because if it's happening to me, what if there's somebody who can't get out of the chair and can't do this on their own? Boulay said.
United said via phone that one person was on-hand to help Mr. Boulay off the plane, but a second person was needed and was on their way when Boulay chose to crawl from the plane on his own.
Rep. Eric Massa's office is also looking into this situation. He said he hopes to find an “equitable solution."
For his inconvenience, Mr. Boulay was offered a $150 voucher which he has no intention of using until he hears the airline admit fault and is satisfied they'll address this issue better going forward.
The Center For Disability Rights may provide free or discounted legal services if Boulay pursues the matter any further.
