A disabled US Army vet wants 'accountability' from American Airlines after they just gave him free miles when he hurt his knee on a seat that wasn't all the way up during landing

06.09.2023 - 21:57 / insider.com / Airlines

A disabled United States Army veteran wants "accountability" from American Airlines after he says he hurt his knee aboard a recent flight thanks to a seat that was not back in the upright position during landing.

"The biggest issue was not that I got hurt, it's that nobody cared at all. They just blew me off," frequent American Airlines flier and Florida retiree Jeff Snyder told Insider. 

Snyder, 56, was traveling from Omaha, Nebraska, to Tampa, Florida, via a connecting flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 20 when he says his knee got banged up and bloody as American Airlines Flight 2607 made a bumpy landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. 

The passenger in front of Snyder had refused to put his seat all the way up during landing, causing a "metal post" from the seat to jut directly into Snyder's right knee, which he previously had surgery on, Snyder said. 

"As we landed we bumped hard and my knee jammed right into, there's a metal post that sticks back toward the side and I jammed right into it," said Snyder, noting that his knee bled as a result. 

The injury "hurt like hell," the Army veteran, who says he has severe PTSD, explained. "But it's not like not like I got shot."

Federal Aviation Administration regulations state that no air carrier "may take off or land an airplane unless each passenger seat back is in the upright position." 

"That's an FAA safety violation," said Snyder who accused crewmembers aboard the flight of being "lackluster" and having a "total lack of regard for any type of safety on the plane."

American Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Snyder's allegation on Wednesday.

On the way off the plane, Snyder said he told one of the flight attendants he got hurt during the flight and the staffer only responded, "Okay."

"That's it," said Snyder. "No, 'are you okay?' "

At the airport, Snyder requested medical attention and he said medics gave him a cold compress. 

Snyder said he then spent the entirety of his four-hour layover trying — to no avail — to get staffers at American Airlines to make some kind of a report to document the incident.

"It was just so frustrating to be in an airport with 'guest relations' people all over the place and not a single person gave — excuse the term — two shits about what was going on," said Snyder. 

Finally, Snyder said a customer service rep provided him with a corporate email address for American Airlines.

An American Airlines customer relations rep replied to Snyder days later, saying, "I sincerely regret to hear of the injury you sustained when traveling to Charlotte" and added, "I hope you're feeling better," according to the email correspondence shared with Insider. 

After Snyder