American Airlines faced backlash after a man died mid-flight due to the delayed response of the flight crew.
According to Independent, John William Cannon died after the flight crew failed to respond to the life-threatening medical emergency of the passenger.
The family of the 62-year-old man alleged that the American Airlines crew failed to call for help until the plane had landed and all the passengers had gotten off, and by the time the help arrived, it was too late to save him.
The Kentucky resident on April 28, 2023, was en route to attend his best friend’s daughter’s wedding in Colorado on American Airlines Flight 1444 when he suffered from a fatal heart attack in an ambulance as EMTs rushed him to Mercy Medical Centre in Durango.
Cannon’s son, who is now also the administrator of his estate, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the airlines after the tragedy.
‘Unbelievably frustrating’ delay in help
Attorney Joseph LoRusso, who is representing the Cannons in court and is a commercial airline-rated pilot, called the delay in getting the assistance.”
LoRusso said on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, “How long does it take to disembark an aeroplane? 20, 30 minutes? That’s critical time. Nobody’s expecting a flight attendant to be a doctor, but you have to at least attempt a recovery.”
He further added that the cabin crew are trained in CPR and all the airlines are required to carry defibrillators onboard.
Moreover, co-counsel Jessica McBryant told The Independent, “The emotional side of this is not just in losing a family member but in how it went down. How alone and scared he must have been.”
What does the lawsuit say?
Cannon filed initially in Denver County District Court and was removed to Denver federal court Tuesday, in which he revealed that his father, who fainted before getting into his connecting flight, “entered a stage of medical crisis which resulted in him becoming unresponsive.”
“Despite Mr Cannon's escalating medical crisis, the… flight crew delayed requesting medical assistance until after the aircraft had landed, taxied to the gate, and all other passengers had deplaned,” it added.
Despite the ambulance crew's efforts, Cannon was pronounced dead at 1:29 am on April 29, 2023.
American Airlines, in response to the lawsuit, said that they are “reviewing the complaint”, but this was not the first time when such a tragedy happened on the flight.
In 2024, during an American flight from Honduras to New York City, a 14-year-old boy who suffered cardiac arrest died on board. Later, a lawsuit alleged that the plane’s defibrillator was faulty, but the case was dismissed over a jurisdictional issue.
