Man dies on American Airlines flight to Florida

A New York mother alleged her son died from cardiac arrest aboard an American Airlines flight to Florida due to the airline’s “negligence in failing to maintain a working defibrillator” on board the aircraft.

According to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Melissa Arzu claims her son, Kevin Greenidge, was flying aboard American Airlines flight No. AA614, from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami International Airport on June 4, when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious.

Arzu says her son’s death was caused “wholly and solely by reason of the carelessness, recklessness, and negligence of [American Airlines] in failing to ensure that the AED and its mobile battery pack were fully and properly charged,” thus hastening the “untimely death” of her son.

In the suit, Arzu claims the airline failed to train its employees in “basic resuscitation technique” and allowed the AED to drain down to no power, causing the defibrillator to stop working.

According to the FAA’s Aviation Medical Assistance Act, aircraft with flight attendants are required to carry defibrillators on board. The law states in part, “each equipment item listed in this section must be inspected regularly… to ensure its condition for continued serviceability and immediate readiness to perform its intended emergency purposes.”

The lawsuit seeks American Airlines to pay damages and attorney fees among “other relief” the court may deem proper.