Omaha advocate celebrates proposal to prevent broken wheelchairs on airplanes [Video]

Neena Nizar figures that her power wheelchair has been damaged nine out of 10 times she has traveled by air.

As an advocate for people with rare diseases, the Elkhorn-area resident travels a lot for work and speaking engagements. She and her now teenage sons, Arshaan and Jahan Adam, also travel to consult with experts regarding the rare condition they share, a progressive form of dwarfism known as Jansen’s metaphyseal chondrodysplasia.

Nizar has been vocal on social media and in news stories about the damage the family’s equipment has sustained during trips and the difficulties they have faced in getting it repaired.

According to the transportation department, an estimated 5.5 million Americans use wheelchairs. In 2023, more than 11,500 wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled — which the agency defined as lost, delayed, damaged or stolen — by carriers required to report the data to the agency.

Late last month, Nizar …