A double-amputee prosthetic-dependent Marine veteran and Long Island police officer says Delta Air Lines humiliated him by forcing him to move from an exit row seat, thus making him feel inferior. This incident happened despite the veteran proving his credibility after more than 10 years of service.
According to a lawsuit filed on November 10, Matias Ferreira, 36, was seated in the exit row on a May 17 flight from JFK Airport to Atlanta when Delta flight attendants told him he had to move, citing FAA safety guidelines.
Ferreira lost his legs in 2011 in Afghanistan after stepping on an IED at age 21. He explained that he’s a U.S. Marine veteran, a 10-year police officer, and an active athlete. However, the crew still insisted he change seats after consulting with the pilot. “I felt like I was being treated as a liability, not as a Marine, not as a police officer, not even as a father,” Ferreira told The New York Post.
As a father, Ferreira claimed that he does not want his kids to feel like they cannot do something just because someone called them a “liability,” which he personally felt at one point. His attorney, Norman Steiner, called Delta’s actions “arbitrary and discriminatory,” noting that FAA rules do not prohibit passengers with prosthetics from sitting in exit rows.
According to the outlet, Delta later sent Ferreira a letter admitting he should not have been moved and even offered him a travel voucher. Ferreira said the incident left him questioning his capability, and he felt awful.
Just over a week before Memorial Day, Matias Ferreira, a combat-wounded U.S. Marine Corps veteran and active law enforcement officer with the Suffolk County Police Department in New York, boarded a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta, GA.
As usual, he booked an exit row… pic.twitter.com/E1XhV1QbQC
— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) May 21, 2025
“If there’s ever an emergency, you’d want someone like me in that row,” he said. For the record, Matias Ferreira has been an active officer who has also done adventure sports like skydiving, shooting and other daring adventures.
He was reportedly in Atlanta to surprise his goddaughter and chose to sit in an exit row seat for extra leg room. Dressed in shorts on the day the incident happened, Matias Ferreira assured the crew that he had sat on the exit seat multiple times and could assist even if it was needed during an emergency, but they didn’t listen.
Instead, the crew spoke to the pilot. He was told that he needed to change his seat as per the Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. Eventually, he had to sit in another seat. The lawsuit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, accused Delta Air Lines of discrimination, poor employee training and seeks unspecified damages to ensure other passengers with prosthetics aren’t maltreated.
Many online users supported the cop as he posted about the incident. For the record, Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operating nine hubs. They started in 1967, and they have been serving customers ever since.
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The entire idea behind using a prosthetic leg is to help a disabled individual regain confidence, independence, and mobility so that they can lead an active everyday life with confidence. Therefore, assuming that someone with a prosthetic is not capable enough to sit near an exit seat or help others during an emergency is vague, unfair and frustrating.
Prosthetics generally last between three and five years, with their lifespan influenced by factors such as activity level, body changes, and maintenance. It can take anywhere between six months and one year for a person who has shifted to a prosthetic leg after the loss of their original one to get used to it after the rehabilitation program.
From my friend, former @USMC and active Police Officer, Matias Ferreira, who in January 2011, during his first deployment, lost his legs and broke his pelvis after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
“I typically don’t rant on… pic.twitter.com/Ubi0oBfWuo
— Angel L Maysonet (@bigricanman) May 20, 2025
Some may even need extra assistance after that to move around (depending on their personal levels of mobility) or experience back pain while getting adjusted to wearing the prosthetic leg after the loss of the original one.
Hence, nobody who’s worn it for years, gone through the trauma and aftermath of their injury, dealt with their truth and accepted it, is physically or mentally weak or incapable of providing help for others.
