Joan and Robert Vanderhorst of Bakersfield never had a problem with their son, Bede, a 16-year-old with Down Syndrome, during the 30 or so airline flights they made together.

But that was always in the economy section, and, last Sunday, the Vanderhorsts decided they wanted to see how the other half lived.

They got to see how the other half acts—but not how they live—when American Airlines refused to let the family board the plane for “security” reasons. A spokesman for American said the pilot saw the 5’1,” 160-pound youngster and asked that he be banished from first-class, and consequently, the flight.

The parents were flabbergasted and the mom filmed the exchange with an airline representative—who said they would arrange for the family to fly “economy” on a later flight—until she was told she couldn’t shoot video in a secured area.

The Vanderhorsts had upgraded to first-class on a flight from Newark to Los Angeles at the last minute, at an extra cost of $625, because they thought it would be a thrill for their son. The video shows the couple trying to reason with a company representative while Bede quietly sits in the background biding his time.

When the conversation became more animated, Port Authority police were called to remove the family from the boarding area. “"It was horrible, humiliating. We were treated like criminals,” Robert Vanderhorst told the New York Daily News. “It's defamation. It's a violation of his civil rights and its defamation.”

Afterward, the family said it would sue the airline for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Bede’s civil rights.

The airline stood behind its employees’ decision on Tuesday when a spokesman reportedly said the boy had been observed in an agitated state. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller told KTLA that Bede was “excitable, running around, and not acclimated to the environment,” and that the pilot couldn’t quiet him down.

The Vanderhorsts said the pilot never approached their child, who was well-behaved throughout the incident. “Of course he's behaving. He's never not behaved,” Joan Vanderhorst said.

It was unclear why Bede was a greater security risk in first-class than economy.

The family ended up flying home in the back row of a United Airlines plane.

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Teen Denied Boarding on American Airlines Flight because He Has Down Syndrome, Family Says (by Victoria Cavaliere, New York Daily News)   

Family: Boy with Down Syndrome Kicked off Flight (KTLA News)

American Airlines Throws Disabled California Boy off Flight (by Robert Castiglioni, Reduced Mobility Rights)