BANGOR – A disabled Hancock veteran who uses a wheelchair has sued Delta Air Lines in U.S. District Court in an effort to get the airline to comply with federal law that requires it to retrofit its aircraft to meet the needs of handicapped passengers.

Harrel Sergeant, 60, claimed in the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor that on April 9 he was “treated like baggage” on a flight from Tucson, Ariz., to Atlanta, Ga. He and his wife were returning from a trip to the Southwest to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, Sergeant said in a phone interview Sunday.

He is asking the court to certify the complaint as a class-action lawsuit so that other disabled Delta passengers also may recover damages from the airline.

“I don’t care about the money,” said Sergeant, who has used a wheelchair for about five years because of a service-related injury. “I want everybody to see handicapped people treated the way they should be. I want them to give us some compassion, maybe a little more space and make it more accessible so they don’t have to hurt themselves any more.”

The Delta flight Sergeant boarded on April 9 on a leg of his return trip to Bangor International Airport was not outfitted as it should have been, he said. In trying to lift himself over the armrest that should have been removable or swung out into the aisle to allow easy access from a wheelchair, Sergeant said that he fell and hit his head on a window.

Sergeant said this is the first time he has had a problem with accessibility on an airline.

The law, according to Sergeant’s attorney, Evans Carter of Framingham, Mass., states that at least half of the aisle seats be removable so wheelchairs can be secured in their place, that aircraft with 60 or more seats have an on board wheelchair, and that personnel offering boarding assistance safeguard the safety and dignity of passengers among other requirements.

The Delta aircraft Sergeant and his wife boarded had none of those features, according to the lawsuit.

The demands outlined in court documents include that:

. Sergeant be paid at least $10,000.

. His attorney be paid $5,000.

. Delta and Northwest Airlines be in full compliance with regulations concerning handicapped passengers.

. Flight crews be trained in properly aiding handicapped passengers.

“I was banged and bruised not to mention humiliated and then was asked to climb into an empty seat next to me, …” Sergeant wrote in a document attached to the complaint. “I pulled myself by the headrest on an open seat and pulled myself to the armrest and fell sideways banging my head on the window.”

Sergeant received a letter of apology and $150 of travel vouchers for himself and his wife about 10 days after the incident but he found that unacceptable, according to court documents.

“I will never again fly with Delta or any other airlines as long as they are allowed to abuse the handicap[ped] and violate every civil right and airline bill of rights possible,” he wrote.

Carter said it was difficult at this stage of the litigation to determine how many potential class members there are. Airlines only keep track of the number of notations concerning wheelchairs on tickets, not the number of people who are considered to be handicapped and situations similar to Sergeant’s.

Attorneys for Delta have 20 days to respond to the complaint after they receive it.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

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