Sir George, if this passenger did state that he was able to move to and from his seat without assistance (as reported in the article) and then in an evacuation he was unable to do this, then he provided false information to the airline and no sympathy is given. More to the point, if the crew were unable to assist this passenger (who, according to the article, said he did not require assistance on and off the aircraft) due to weight or whatever reason then why should they endanger themselves to assist someone else. The first basic rule of First Aid is to CHECK FOR DANGER - which means DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN A SITUATION WHERE HELPING SOMEONE ELSE COULD ENDANGER YOUR OWN LIFE.
Again, as I stated earlier - *IF* this passenger stated he was able to move himself (which I understand may be totally incorrectly reported in this article) then he lied to the airline and its staff, and endangered himself unnecessarily. No sympathy given, sorry. If anything, he unnecessarily endangered the life of the crew and those pax around him
so please don't go off on one re equal opportunity etc.
Ps I have relatives with severe disabilities and have been around them all my life, so am completely aware of the difficulties faced on a day to day basis by those with physical AND emotional disabilties.