A disabled man has claimed he was forced to crawl off a plane run by Delta Airlines, and is now suing the company in an extraordinary case.

D. Baraaka Kanaan is a 40-year old paraplegic, who is suing Delta Airlines claiming that the airline’s staff forced him to crawl on and off their flight, and provided no additional assistance to help him.

Kanaan has filed a lawsuit claiming that he “endured physical and extreme emotional suffering” from the experiences and believes Delta should pay him a significant sum in damages.

He claims the first incident took place July 27, 2012 when he traveled on a flight from Maui, Hawaii to Nantucket, Massachusetts. Kanaan claims he was forced to crawl onto the flight.

Then two days later, when Kanaan returned to Hawaii from Massachusetts, he was again forced to endure the degrading and embarrassing treatment, according to his allegations.

The 40 year old has claimed that he called the airline weeks in advance to notify them of his disability and so they could make the appropriate arrangements for him. He told them he would need an aisle chair to get him to his seat and a lift to get on the plane.

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The man has described that after crawling off the plane upon his arrival in Nantucket, he was assured the airline had prepared the necessary equipment to help him onto the plane. Instead, the assistance offered to him was when a Delta attendant offered to put a piece of cardboard down so Kanaan would not ruin his clothes.

Seemingly realizing they had caused an embarrassing and degrading experience for Kanaan, the airline gave him a $100 voucher and 25,000 SkyMiles to compensate him for the treatment.

Needless to say Kanaan refused the offer and is now bringing a lawsuit against Delta.

Just in December 2012, Marine Lance Cpl. Christian Brown, a double amputee and Afghan war veteran, was forced to ensure what has been described as a degrading experience with Delta when he was forced to sit in the back of the aircraft. Attendants argued that they put him there because the plane was about to take off.

NEW YORK, July 31 (UPI) — A letter allegedly sent by Delta Airlines gives an apology to a disabled man for forcing him to crawl up a boarding ramp when a wheelchair was lacking, he said.

Baraka Kanaan of Maui, Hawaii, a former college professor and current director of a non-profit organization, said he received the letter after he filed a lawsuit in federal court July 23.

The suit says in part Kanaan “crawled hand over hand through the main cabin and down a narrow flight of stairs and across the tarmac to his wheelchair” at a Massachusetts airport in July, despite previous assurances his wheelchair accommodations would be met.

“They gave me an ultimatum. You can find a way off this plane on your own or you can go back to Maui where you live,” Kanaan told the New York Daily News Tuesday.

The letter, from Delta Agent Megan Buchanan, apologized “for any distress or discomfort caused when it was necessary to board/disembark in Nantucket by crawling up and down the plane’s stairs.”

The newspaper said it had seen the letter, but its authenticity was not confirmed by Delta, which the report said had previously refused comment because of pending litigation.

A paralyzed man is suing Delta Airlines, claiming he was forced to crawl across the tarmac after the carrier refused to help him on and off a plane.

Baraka Kanaan, a 40-year-old former philosophy teacher, was paralyzed in a car accident in 2000.

In his lawsuit, he claims he was subjected to “appallingly outrageous treatment” on his flight to Nantucket, Mass., last July and his return flight back to Maui, Hawaii, two days later, ABC News reported.

Kanaan said he called Delta to let them know he’d need an aisle seat and a lift to get off the plane and into his wheelchair.

According to the lawsuit, Delta officials said no problem.

But when Kanaan got to Nantucket Airport, there was no lift and he claims a flight attendant told him there was no way they could get him off the plane, the Huffington Post reported.

As a result, he claims he was forced to “crawl down the aisle of the airplane, down the stairs of the aircraft and across the tarmac to his wheelchair without any assistance.”

The same thing happened on his return trip back to Hawaii.

Kanaan is seeking unspecified damages for enduring what he called “intense physical and extreme emotional suffering.”

A Delta spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

A paralyzed man is suing Delta Airlines, claiming he was forced to crawl across the tarmac after the carrier refused to help him on and off a plane.

Baraka Kanaan, a 40-year-old former philosophy teacher, was paralyzed in a car accident in 2000.

In his lawsuit, he claims he was subjected to “appallingly outrageous treatment” on his flight to Nantucket, Mass., last July and his return flight back to Maui, Hawaii, two days later, ABC News reported.

Kanaan said he called Delta to let them know he’d need an aisle seat and a lift to get off the plane and into his wheelchair.

According to the lawsuit, Delta officials said no problem.

But when Kanaan got to Nantucket Airport, there was no lift and he claims a flight attendant told him there was no way they could get him off the plane, the Huffington Post reported.

As a result, he claims he was forced to “crawl down the aisle of the airplane, down the stairs of the aircraft and across the tarmac to his wheelchair without any assistance.”

The same thing happened on his return trip back to Hawaii.

Kanaan is seeking unspecified damages for enduring what he called “intense physical and extreme emotional suffering.”

A Delta spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Talk about skipping out on the bill.

A passenger on Delta Airlines early Tuesday left four of his seven bags at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, apparently because he didn’t want to pay more than $1,000 in baggage fees.

NBC News reported Tuesday that the passenger, who was en route to New York’s JFK Airport, abandoned four bags to avoid $1,400 in fees. Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the TSA was notified of the unattended luggage at around 1 a.m. local Seattle time near the check-in area for Delta Airlines. As a precaution, law enforcement responded to clear the bags.

One of the bags was determined to be suspicious. “The Bomb Disposal Unit responded and deployed a robot to investigate the luggage,” said Christina Faine, spokeswoman for the airport, in an email. “After X-raying the bag, the bomb techs cleared the contents and determined that there was no threat.”

The TSA’s Feinstein said the passenger was identified and law enforcement officials with the Port Authority of New York New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, met the flight and interviewed him when he arrived. Officials determined there was no criminal intent by the passenger.

A Delta spokesman said unattended bags are not a common issue for the airline.

Anyone who’s flown in the past few years knows how airlines nickel-and-dime passengers on food, drinks, baggage, seat selection, early boarding and wi-fi. And it’s getting worse. A report published in May by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that U.S. airlines collected nearly $3.5 billion in baggage fees from passengers in 2012, up from $3.48 billion in 2011. And Delta Air Lines (DAL) has sat at the top of the list every year since 2009, according to the bureau. In the first quarter of 2013, Delta brought in $191 million in baggage fees – the highest amount – followed by United, US Airways and American Airlines.

Baggage fees on Delta are currently $25 for the first checked bag, $35 for the second checked bag (both on domestic flights). Delta allows up to 10 bags to be checked per passenger on flights, but you’ll have to pay. Your third checked bag costs $125 and bags 4-10 are $200 each.

“We’re assuming this is extremely heavy luggage,” said Randy Petersen, founder of Flyertalk, in an email. “In fact, looking at Delta’s normal overweight luggage fees, we can assume that one or more of these bags weighed more than 100 pounds and at some point reached the weight of a normal passenger.” Petersen said it would have cost the passenger more than $2,000 to move those same bags with just a day delay via FedEx.

Neither the TSA nor Delta would reveal the passenger’s identity but it’s safe to say he wasn’t traveling light and he incurred the airline’s overweight bag fees. What’s more, Delta charges separate fees for each limitation a passenger exceeds: size, weight and quantity. Delta’s website says: “For example, if an extra piece of baggage exceeds the weight and size limits, it will be subject to three fees: one for the extra bag, one for exceeding the weight limit and one for going over the size restriction. Fees are charged for each additional bag, each way.”

“Granted, $1,400 is a whole lot of fees,” Petersen said. “But truly if any passenger is relying on an airline to carry that many ‘overweight’ bags, surely there is some responsibility to know estimated weight and inquire with the airline before.”

Talk about skipping out on the bill.

A passenger on Delta Airlines early Tuesday left four of his seven bags at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, apparently because he didn’t want to pay more than $1,000 in baggage fees.

NBC News reported Tuesday that the passenger, who was en route to New York’s JFK Airport, abandoned four bags to avoid $1,400 in fees. Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the TSA was notified of the unattended luggage at around 1 a.m. local Seattle time near the check-in area for Delta Airlines. As a precaution, law enforcement responded to clear the bags.

One of the bags was determined to be suspicious. “The Bomb Disposal Unit responded and deployed a robot to investigate the luggage,” said Christina Faine, spokeswoman for the airport, in an email. “After X-raying the bag, the bomb techs cleared the contents and determined that there was no threat.”

The TSA’s Feinstein said the passenger was identified and law enforcement officials with the Port Authority of New York New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, met the flight and interviewed him when he arrived. Officials determined there was no criminal intent by the passenger.

A Delta spokesman said unattended bags are not a common issue for the airline.

Anyone who’s flown in the past few years knows how airlines nickel-and-dime passengers on food, drinks, baggage, seat selection, early boarding and wi-fi. And it’s getting worse. A report published in May by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that U.S. airlines collected nearly $3.5 billion in baggage fees from passengers in 2012, up from $3.48 billion in 2011. And Delta Air Lines (DAL) has sat at the top of the list every year since 2009, according to the bureau. In the first quarter of 2013, Delta brought in $191 million in baggage fees – the highest amount – followed by United, US Airways and American Airlines.

Baggage fees on Delta are currently $25 for the first checked bag, $35 for the second checked bag (both on domestic flights). Delta allows up to 10 bags to be checked per passenger on flights, but you’ll have to pay. Your third checked bag costs $125 and bags 4-10 are $200 each.

“We’re assuming this is extremely heavy luggage,” said Randy Petersen, founder of Flyertalk, in an email. “In fact, looking at Delta’s normal overweight luggage fees, we can assume that one or more of these bags weighed more than 100 pounds and at some point reached the weight of a normal passenger.” Petersen said it would have cost the passenger more than $2,000 to move those same bags with just a day delay via FedEx.

Neither the TSA nor Delta would reveal the passenger’s identity but it’s safe to say he wasn’t traveling light and he incurred the airline’s overweight bag fees. What’s more, Delta charges separate fees for each limitation a passenger exceeds: size, weight and quantity. Delta’s website says: “For example, if an extra piece of baggage exceeds the weight and size limits, it will be subject to three fees: one for the extra bag, one for exceeding the weight limit and one for going over the size restriction. Fees are charged for each additional bag, each way.”

“Granted, $1,400 is a whole lot of fees,” Petersen said. “But truly if any passenger is relying on an airline to carry that many ‘overweight’ bags, surely there is some responsibility to know estimated weight and inquire with the airline before.”

Talk about skipping out on the bill.

A passenger on Delta Airlines early Tuesday left four of his seven bags at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, apparently because he didn’t want to pay more than $1,000 in baggage fees.

NBC News reported Tuesday that the passenger, who was en route to New York’s JFK Airport, abandoned four bags to avoid $1,400 in fees. Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the TSA was notified of the unattended luggage at around 1 a.m. local Seattle time near the check-in area for Delta Airlines. As a precaution, law enforcement responded to clear the bags.

One of the bags was determined to be suspicious. “The Bomb Disposal Unit responded and deployed a robot to investigate the luggage,” said Christina Faine, spokeswoman for the airport, in an email. “After X-raying the bag, the bomb techs cleared the contents and determined that there was no threat.”

The TSA’s Feinstein said the passenger was identified and law enforcement officials with the Port Authority of New York New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, met the flight and interviewed him when he arrived. Officials determined there was no criminal intent by the passenger.

A Delta spokesman said unattended bags are not a common issue for the airline.

Anyone who’s flown in the past few years knows how airlines nickel-and-dime passengers on food, drinks, baggage, seat selection, early boarding and wi-fi. And it’s getting worse. A report published in May by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that U.S. airlines collected nearly $3.5 billion in baggage fees from passengers in 2012, up from $3.48 billion in 2011. And Delta Air Lines (DAL) has sat at the top of the list every year since 2009, according to the bureau. In the first quarter of 2013, Delta brought in $191 million in baggage fees – the highest amount – followed by United, US Airways and American Airlines.

Baggage fees on Delta are currently $25 for the first checked bag, $35 for the second checked bag (both on domestic flights). Delta allows up to 10 bags to be checked per passenger on flights, but you’ll have to pay. Your third checked bag costs $125 and bags 4-10 are $200 each.

“We’re assuming this is extremely heavy luggage,” said Randy Petersen, founder of Flyertalk, in an email. “In fact, looking at Delta’s normal overweight luggage fees, we can assume that one or more of these bags weighed more than 100 pounds and at some point reached the weight of a normal passenger.” Petersen said it would have cost the passenger more than $2,000 to move those same bags with just a day delay via FedEx.

Neither the TSA nor Delta would reveal the passenger’s identity but it’s safe to say he wasn’t traveling light and he incurred the airline’s overweight bag fees. What’s more, Delta charges separate fees for each limitation a passenger exceeds: size, weight and quantity. Delta’s website says: “For example, if an extra piece of baggage exceeds the weight and size limits, it will be subject to three fees: one for the extra bag, one for exceeding the weight limit and one for going over the size restriction. Fees are charged for each additional bag, each way.”

“Granted, $1,400 is a whole lot of fees,” Petersen said. “But truly if any passenger is relying on an airline to carry that many ‘overweight’ bags, surely there is some responsibility to know estimated weight and inquire with the airline before.”

(PIX11) – A disabled man is suing Delta Airlines after he claims he was forced to crawl across the tarmac multiple times without assistance.

Baraka Kanaan is unable to walk after a 2000 car crash.

He says last July, Delta informed him appropriate accommodations would be made, but he says when the plane touched down, he got none.

So he had to crawl to his wheelchair.

Not only that — it happened on his return flight as well.

A partially paralyzed man is suing Delta Airlines, claiming he was forced to crawl on and off his flights and across the tarmac because he wasn’t provided with the equipment he needed to board and exit the plane, according to a complaint.

D. Baraka Kanaan, 40, of Haiku, Hawaii, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Hawaii against Delta Airlines and 20 of the carrier’s employees and agents. The suit, filed on July 23, seeks damages after he endured “intense physical and extreme emotional suffering” from the ordeal.

In the suit, Kanaan said the airline subjected him to “appallingly outrageous treatment” both on his flight to Nantucket, Mass., on July 27, 2012 and on his flight back to Maui, Hawaii, two days later.

READ MORE: Amputee Vet ‘Humiliated’ on Delta Flight

Kanaan, who suffered partial paralysis of his legs after a car accident in 2000, called Delta weeks before his flight to Nantucket, Mass., to let them know he needed an aisle chair and a lift to get off the plane and into his wheelchair, the complaint said. The airline told him he’d be accommodated upon his arrival.

But when his flight landed at Nantucket Airport, he was told by a flight attendant that the airline didn’t have the equipment he needed and that the crew couldn’t get him off the plane, according to the complaint.

As a result, Kanaan was “forced to crawl down the aisle of the airplane, down the stairs of the aircraft and across the tarmac to his wheelchair without any assistance.”

But even though Kanaan reported the problem to Delta and was assured he’d be given what he needed on his trip home, the same thing happened to Kanaan on his flight to Hawaii.

Kanaan was told that neither an aisle chair nor a lift was available to help him on the plane. Once again, he was forced to “crawl across the tarmac, up the stairs of the aircraft, down the aisle and hoist himself into his seat,” the complaint said.

The only thing the airline offered him was “a piece of cardboard to put down so his clothes wouldn’t get dirty,” according to the suit.

Under the Air Carrier Access Act, the airline is required to provide passengers “with a lift, aisle chair and other equipment as needed or requested,” the suit said.

While the Delta disability desk offered to compensate Kanaan with 25,000 miles and $100 voucher, the lawsuit also states, the offer was not enough to quell his fears that he’d be forced to crawl again if he flew with the airline.

Kanaan’s attorney, Richard Holcomb, told ABC News that while his client was upset that the issue could not be resolved, he’s glad that his story is out as the airline has “done other egregious things to disabled people” in the past.

Kanaan’s complaint states, “Just a year before, Delta received no less than 5,000 complaints against it and was ordered to pay record breaking fines for its persistent ‘egregious’ mistreatment of disabled passengers.”

A spokesman for Delta Airlines declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.