Carolina Personal Injury News

North Carolina Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Boy Falls From Plane

Posted on Feb 22, 2011

After their son died while a stowaway on a US Airways flight, a North Carolina family is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

In 2010, 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale of Charlotte, North Carolina, ran away from home and went to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Authorities have no idea how he passed security or gained access to a plane, but he then snuck into the wheel well of a commercial airline headed to Logan Airport in Boston.

Experts believe that the boy probably lost consciousness during the flight (in which oxygen levels drop and temperatures can plummet to 20 below zero) and then fell from the plane when the landing gear went down in the minutes before landing. His body was found in Milton, Massachusetts, battered from the fall from the plane.

Tisdale’s parents want answers – especially the answer to how their son was able to breach security and put himself in such a deadly situation. They are concerned that the Transportation Security Administration did not look into the incident far enough and that the Charlotte Airport has done nothing to review its current security. They believe that their son would be alive today if the TSA or airport had taken proper measure to keep citizens from putting themselves in danger.

“We intend to seek justice for a child who, although culpable for making irresponsible and immature decisions representative of his age, should never have successfully gained access to that airplane,” the family’s wrongful death attorney said in the press release. “Had airport security been up to par, he would be alive and well with his family today.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 86 people have attempted similar stowaway attempts on airplanes. Only 17 have survived.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and we have experience handling wrongful death cases. We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. Our North Carolina injury law firm has also been named one of the Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury plaintiffs since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. So call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can return your call promptly.