United Air ‘saddened’ by death of disability rights advocate

United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it was saddened by the death of Engracia Figueroa, a disabilities rights advocate who died after developing complications to injuries she sustained while using a wheelchair the carrier provided to after her customized mobility device was allegedly destroyed during a July flight.

“We were saddened to hear about Ms. Figueroa’s passing and we offer our condolences to her friends and family,” a United spokesperson said in a statement Sunday.

Her death has fueled outrage on social media about how airlines need to use greater care with wheelchairs and other mobility aids for the people with disabilities who depend on them.

Engracia Figueroa’s custom-made wheelchair was “destroyed” during a flight from Washington, D.C., to California in July, according to a blog post on the website of a group she worked with. She was injured while using a broken replacement wheelchair during the five hours she was at the airport following the flight and was later hospitalized after returning home, according to the group.

Her conditioned worsened over the ensuing months before she eventually developed an infection that required emergency surgery, the group said. She died Oct. 31, according to the post. United initially refused to replace her wheelchair, instead offering to pay to have it repaired. The carrier later agreed to replace the device that was valued at $30,000, according to the group.