Between attempted cockpit breaches, collisions, and bomb threats, flying these days can feel like quite the feat.
Now, a new lawsuit is illuminating another horrifying worst-case scenario. A teenager died onboard an American Airlines flight after flight attendants could not revive him from cardiac arrest due to a defibrillator that wasn’t properly charged.
Kevin Greenridge was traveling from Honduras to Miami on June 4, 2022, on AA Flight 614 when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious mid-flight.
According to a lawsuit filed by his mother, Melissa Arzu, his death was “wholly and solely by reason of the carelessness, recklessness and negligence of the defendant AMERICAN, its respective agents, servants and/or employees in failing to maintain an automatic external defibrillator (AED) on board the subject flight.”
The flight was diverted to Cancun, Mexico, to get Greenridge medical attention on the ground, but he did not survive.
The lawsuit also states that the AED and mobile battery back were not “fully and properly charged” and accused the airline of “failing to train its employees with basic resuscitation technique” if a medical device fails.
The suit was filed in U.S. Federal Court in New York. Arzu and her camp did not specify the monetary amount they’re seeking in damages.
The Fort Worth-based airline made headlines last month when an American Airlines plane headed toward Washington D.C. had to make an emergency landing in Raleigh, North Carolina after a passenger incited a Level 4 threat on board, the highest possible level which codes for an “attempted or actual breach of the flight deck.”
The passenger was taken into custody upon landing.
American Airlines has not yet publicly commented on the latest lawsuit. The company was down just over 14.5% in a one-year period as of Wednesday afternoon.
