Parents of teen stowaway who fell from airplane wheel well sue for $10,000

PUBLISHED: 21:12 EST, 15 November 2012 | UPDATED: 21:12 EST, 15 November 2012

The family of Delvonte Tisdale, the 16-year-old who fell to his death from a US Airways plane as he hid in the wheel well, are suing the airport, the City of Charlotte and the airline for $10,000.

A lawsuit filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court Superior Court last week claims the parties should have

Loss: The family of 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale (pictured) are suing for lax security at a Charlotte airport, that allowed the teen to climb into the wheel well of a plane

done more to prevent their son from entering the airport’s tarmac and gaining access to the plane.

The teenager, who was a sophomore at North Mecklenburg High School, ran away from home on November 14, 2010 because he was said to be unhappy about living in North Carolina, preferring his previous home in Baltimore.

Charlotte City Attorney Bob Hagemann reacted to the suit, saying ‘The city remains saddened by the death of Delvonte Tisdale and wishes to express sympathy for his family. However, I don’t see how the city or the airport could or should be held legally liable for Mr Tisdale’s decisions and actions.’

Officials believe Tisdale snuck onto the tarmac at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and entered the wheel well of US Airways Flight 1176, a Boeing 737, that was headed for Boston.

His body was found on November 15 by a group of college students in a wooded area in Milton, Massachusetts. He was found without shirt or shoes and he was so badly damaged that it was difficult to identify the victim.

Ultimately, police found a hall pass from school that bore his name.

More...

They found his clothes strewn along the plane’s flight path, a hand print on the plane’s wheel and according to his autopsy the boy fell ‘from a significant height.’

Overwhelmed: Anthony Tisdale, right, father of Delvonte Tisdale, wipes his face as his mother, Lula Smith, left, looks on during a news conference in front of his home in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 23, 2010

In addition to the tragedy of the loss, the local airport was criticized for a security breach.

‘If that was someone with a different motive, if that was a terrorist, that could be a bomb planted on there undetected,’ Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said in 2010 about the incident.

The boy’s family similarly was in shock that there wasn’t more security.

Runaway: The teen was a sophomore at North Mecklenburg High School (pictured) and ran away from home on November 14, 2010

Stowaway: The boy tried to hide in the wheel well (like the one pictured) on a Boeing 737

Laura Attikou, Delvonte’s aunt, said her brother’s son was well-behaved and had a good life.

‘The biggest mystery to me is how did he get on that plane? Where was security?’ Laura Attikou, Delvonte’s aunt, told the local media shortly after her nephew’s death.

Family of teen stowaway who fell from plane’s wheel well suing airport, city, US Airways

Add your comments

Comments (68)

The comments below have not been moderated.

View all

Sue the parents for the distress caused by finding the body parts and damage to the aeroplane, If some one is to blame get the guilty first.

- bruno595 , Las Palmas, Spain, 16/11/2012 16:34

Click to rate Rating (0)

Oh please drop this lawsuit. He did a dumb teenage thing and you should be grieving, not sueing...

- Bree78 , Kansas City, 16/11/2012 16:23

Click to rate Rating 7

Maybe his parents should have noticed their son wasn't happy? Their kid does something stupid and they are suing the airport, security firm and the city of Boston? Always the same irresponsible parents that think they should get paid!! I can't say I'm surprised, they're taught they're owed from cradle to grave.

- Skinny Eggs , Hot as Hades, United States, 16/11/2012 16:16

Click to rate Rating 12

The parents should be fined for raising an idiot and being idiots.

- Rollingthunder , Vancouver, 16/11/2012 15:59

Click to rate Rating 17

Why do they name their kids such stuipd names?

- dinodavid220 , atlanta, United States, 16/11/2012 15:54

Click to rate Rating 16

In similar vein, a boy in Edinburgh climbed a wall topped with razor wire, got on to a warehouse roof, fell through a skylight and, sadly, was seriously injured. Whilst his grandmother told the press that he shouldn't have been on the roof and it was his fault, his mother protested that the warehouse owners were at fault for making it so easy for a child to climb on to the roof. It seems it always someone else's fault in the eyes of some parents.

- CeeDee , Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 16/11/2012 15:53

Click to rate Rating 23

What is the biggest tragedy is that this poor child was a runaway trying get away from his PARENTS and in his desperation hid in a wheel well and fell to his untimely death...the parents should be closely examined if there are other children in the house. I hope the judge throws this suit out and slaps them with a fine and charges them with child endangerment!!

- Carebear , Saint Louis, 16/11/2012 15:39

Click to rate Rating 22

How ridiculous...this was all his own fault which should teach others a lesson but no one should get money out of this sad affair. Shame on the parents.

- cozmik , London, 16/11/2012 15:33

Click to rate Rating 30

The action is not for $10,000. It specifies that it seeks damages in excess of $10,000.

- Radish , USA, 16/11/2012 15:30

Click to rate Rating 11

The parents should be apologizing for their son's behavior and the stress it has caused. Take responsibility.

- Fedup , Hollywood, United States, 16/11/2012 15:29

Click to rate Rating 29

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.