American Airlines flight crew let passenger die while others disembarked, family says

A 62-year-old antheral successful the throes of a life-threatening aesculapian exigency died aft an American Airlines formation unit failed to telephone for assistance until aft the level landed, taxied to the gross and each different passengers had disembarked – by which clip it was excessively precocious to prevention him, his household alleges.

John William Cannon suffered a fatal bosom onslaught successful the backmost of an ambulance arsenic EMTs rushed him to Mercy Medical Center successful Durango, Colorado, according to a wrongful decease suit filed by Cannon’s son, who is present besides the head of his estate.

The Kentucky nonmigratory was successful municipality to be his champion friend’s daughter’s wedding, lawyer Joseph LoRusso, who is representing the Cannons successful court, told The Independent.

LoRusso, himself a commercialized airline-rated pilot, described the evident deficiency of urgency successful summoning assistance for the elder Cannon arsenic “unbelievably frustrating.”

“How agelong does it instrumentality to deboard an airplane? 20, 30 minutes? That’s captious time,” LoRusso said connected Wednesday.

Cabin crews are trained successful CPR, and each commercialized airliners person been required since 2004 to transportation defibrillators onboard, LoRusso went on.

“Nobody’s expecting a formation attendant to beryllium a doctor, but you person to astatine slightest effort a recovery,” helium said.

If things had played retired differently, Cannon would “probably” beryllium live today, according to co-counsel Jessica McBryant.

“The affectional broadside of this is not conscionable successful losing a household member, but successful however it went down,” McBryant told The Independent. “How unsocial and frightened helium indispensable person been.”

In an email, an American Airlines spokesperson said simply, “We are reviewing the complaint.”

April 28, 2023, began similar immoderate different time for Cannon, who, astatine astir 12:30 p.m., caught American Airlines formation 1444 from Louisville, Kentucky, to Dallas-Fort Worth, wherever helium would get a transportation to Durango, according to his son’s complaint, which was filed initially successful Denver County District Court and removed to Denver national tribunal Tuesday. While deplaning, Cannon fainted and collapsed connected the jetway, the ailment states.

It says American employees helped Cannon backmost to his feet, then, conscionable implicit 2 minutes later, sent him disconnected truthful helium wouldn’t miss his connecting flight.

During the formation to Durango, Cannon “entered a signifier of aesculapian situation which resulted successful him becoming unresponsive,” the ailment continues.

“Despite Mr. Cannon's escalating aesculapian crisis, the… formation unit delayed requesting aesculapian assistance until aft the craft had landed, taxied to the gate, and each different passengers had deplaned,” it goes on.

One of the unit members told exigency dispatchers that Cannon was “in and retired of consciousness with labored breathing,” according to the complaint. Firefighters were archetypal connected the scene, and gave Cannon oxygen portion waiting for medics to arrive, the ailment states. It says they past removed Cannon from the craft and loaded him into an ambulance, wherever helium soon went into ventricular fibrillation arrest, the astir predominant origin of abrupt cardiac death, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“The ambulance unit performed astir 10 minutes of thorax compressions, administered 2 doses of epinephrine, and delivered aggregate Automated External Defibrillator (AED) shocks,” the ailment states.

However, it says, their efforts were yet for naught. Cannon was pronounced dormant astatine 1:29 americium the pursuing morning.

Cannon’s champion person was waiting for him astatine the gross erstwhile the formation landed and disgorged everyone aboard, but for Cannon, according to LoRusso.

“Next happening helium knows, EMS pulls up and they’re pulling John off,” helium told The Independent. “It was concern arsenic accustomed until they could get each the passengers away, and then, each of a sudden, it became an emergency… It seems similar it’s go a persistent issue, wherever these formation crews are ‘event averse.’ Like, if you downplay things and effort to expanse them nether the rug, that’s the go-to play these days.”

LoRusso said American should ne'er person allowed Cannon to get connected his connecting formation successful Dallas, fixed his condition. To that end, the suit charges the hose with, among different things, negligently failing to contradict boarding to an idiosyncratic successful aesculapian crisis.

“It’s important for crews to recognize that if someone’s successful a aesculapian crisis, they’re good wrong their rights to say, ‘We’re not going to committee you,” LoRusso said. “If idiosyncratic has labored breathing, successful what satellite would you enactment him successful an airliner, successful a compartment pressurized up to 8,000, 9,000 feet? That’s crazy.”

Additionally, the suit calls American retired for failing to springiness tenable archetypal assistance onboard the aircraft, failing to instrumentality tenable steps to turn… Cannon implicit to a doc successful a timely manner, failing to wage due attraction to [Cannon’s] aesculapian condition, and failing to prioritize… Cannon successful the deboarding process erstwhile helium exhibited signs of utmost carnal distress onboard the aircraft.

Last year, relatives of a 14-year-old lad who went into cardiac apprehension and died aboard an American formation from Honduras to New York City sued the airline, saying the plane’s defibrillator was faulty. The lawsuit was aboriginal dismissed implicit a jurisdictional issue.

Cannon’s household is seeking unspecified damages for intelligence anguish, suffering, bereavement, nonaccomplishment of companionship, attorneys’ fees and ceremonial expenses.

“The eventual extremity of immoderate suit is to marque things safer successful the future,” McBryant told The Independent. “While this lawsuit is astir John Cannon and his family, we privation American Airlines to… clasp radical accountable for what happened truthful it doesn't hap again.”