According to a Transportation Security Administration report, 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale was able to stow away on a US Airways plane last November because of inadequate security staffing at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Tisdale died after falling out of the plane while it was in the air. His body was found in a Boston suburb. In our North Carolina injury lawyer blog last December, we reported that Tisdales parents were considering suing US Airways, the airport, TSA, and/or other parties who might have contributed to allowing him to stow aboard the plane for his wrongful death.

Following the tragic accident, TSA and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department conducted a joint probe into how the teenager managed to sneak onto airport property and hide in the plane without being detected. CMPD also asked TSA to conduct an additional review of the security breach.

TSA sent a redacted version of the report to the CMPD last week. Compiled in February, the report is called “Delvonte Tisdale Investigation: Security Breach and Plane Boarding.”

According to the report, between when the plane left the gate and when it took off, Tisdale had a little over an hour to stow onto the plane. The report says evidence indicates that the teenager did not access the plane while it was at the gate or that he entered the airport through the terminal.

Many of the comments in the report were blocked out. However, it did express concerns that current security levels were not adequate for a major metropolitan airport and greater law enforcement allocations is recommended. Also, the report noted that all officers are also EMT certified and handle medical calls that occur on the property, and that perhaps contract security officers (rather than police officers, who are supposed to concentrate on security issues) should be retained to handle such matters.

Security staffing cited in security breach involving teen at airport, WISTV, April 19, 2011

Read the TSA Report

Family of dead wheel-well stow-away to sue TSA, HSNW, January 20, 2011

Family of Charlotte, North Carolina Teen Who Fell From US Airways Plane Want to Know How He Was Able to Stow Away, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 17, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Transportation Security Administration

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

The family of teenager Delvonte Tisdale want to know how the 16-year-old was able to sneak onto a US Airways plane last month. Now, Charlotte airport authorities are asking police to investigate how the boy was able to get past security. One theory under exploration is that the teen jumped the 6-foot chain link fence that has barbed wire on top of it. According to the Transportation Security Administration, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport is responsible for the security on its grounds.

The Charlotte, North Caroline teenager died after falling several thousand feet from the air. Investigators say that Tisdale fell out as the plane was lowering its landing gear. However, experts are saying that he was likely dead before then.

Tisdale stowed onto the plane early on November 15, 2010. Officials say the teen appears to have hidden in the commercial plane’s left wheel well.

Tisdale’s body, which was severely damaged from the fall, was found in Massachusetts. However, seeing that at 20,000 feet the air inside a wheel well can go down to more than 20 below zero, there is a good chance that Tisdale lost consciousness because of the severe cold and lack of oxygen. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, out of 86 known stowaway attempts only 18 people have survived.

North Carolina Wrongful Death
If hazards, inadequate security, insufficient safety measures, and other circumstances on a premise contributed to your loved one’s death, you may have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death case.

Family wants to know how teen snuck onto plane, Associated Press/Boston.com, December 14, 2010

Authorities Work to Determine Whether N.C. Teen Delvonte Tisdale Fell From a Plane, ABC News, November 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Federal Aviation Administration

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, pilot error may have been a factor in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina aviation accident on July 12. Per the report, a Cirrus SR20 touched down on the runway at Horace Williams Airport so hard that the plane bounced several times before crashing into a fence and trees.

Killed in the North Carolina plane crash was pilot Thomas Pitts, 66. The two passengers riding with him were injured. Kyle Henn has since been released from the hospital, while Jim Donohue was still in critical condition as of last Friday.

According to witnesses, the private plane appeared to be operating out of control as it arrived at the airport, which belongs to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While it is not uncommon to add a power climb when attempting to re-land an aircraft, “pilot-induced oscillations” are not, and, per the report, excessive speed may have been a factor in this particular case.

One witness says the plane may have been traveling speeds of 60 to 70 mph as it went off the runway, while another witness has said that the nose of the plane was at a 45-degree upward angle during landing. No mechanical problems have been discovered.

North Carolina Plane Accidents
Unfortunately, plane crashes usually result in fatalities and serious injuries for those involved. Aviation accidents are different from other types of injury accidents, and it is important that you work with a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm that knows how to determine who should be held responsible for your plane crash injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death.

Crash may be pilot’s fault, News Observer, July 20, 2010

Friends grieve for pilot killed in crash, The Chapel Hill News, July 18, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NTSB

Plane Accidents Overview, Justia

With the life expectancy rate getting longer, more elderly persons are having to stay at assisted living facilities. In 2007 alone, 975 people resided in 38,000 US nursing homes in 2007. In 2030, there will likely be71.5 million seniors in the over 65 age group occupying this planet.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse law firm knows that deciding if and where you should allow your loved one to live is a very important decision. Not only do you want to make sure that your family receives the proper nursing care, but also, it is imperative that he/she does not become the victim of nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault, elder financial abuse, or patient violence. You also want to make sure that your loved one feels as safe and content as he/she can be when living at a nursing home.

According to US News & World Report, that when looking for the right nursing home you need to consider:

• Choose an assisted living facility that is located in a place that allows your loved one to still feel connected to his/her community.

• Make sure that the nursing home can provide the type of medical and nursing care your loved one needs.

• Choose a facility that is licensed and meets the state’s nursing home standards and requirements

• Get recommendations from friends and do your research before choosing a place.

• Visit the nursing home more than once. Check out life at the facility during the day and at night.

• Talk to residents that are living at the nursing home now and ask them about the staff, the food, security, and whether or not they are satisfied with their experience.

US News Offers Nine Thoughts to Consider When Looking for a Nursing Home, US News, May 27, 2010

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

May is Older Americans Month, Administration on Aging

The National Transportation Safety Board says that they have ruled out several possible causes of the fatal plane crash in North Carolina last Friday that killed all six people on the plane.

The Beechcraft King Air C90A twin-engine turboprop’s cockpit voice recorder has been recovered, and it will be sent to Washington D.C. for examination. NTSB investigator Todd Gunther says that federal investigators have ruled out engine failure, fire, structural defects, or pilot illness as causes of the crash.

Six men died in the crash: Steve Simpson, 46, Frank Ruggiero, 52, John Wesley Rakestraw, 50, Tony Gunter, 46, Hal Echols, 57, and Robert Butler, 49. The men were going to hunting and golf resort Primland in Virginia. All six men were from Paulding, Georgia and were prominent business and civic leaders in their community. It is not certain who was driving the plane at the time of the crash.

New radar data reveals that the plane overshot the runway when it approached Mount Airy airport for a landing before veering left and crashing in a residential area. No one on the ground was injured.

If you are a plane crash survivor or have lost a family member in an aviation accident that you believe was caused by the negligence of the pilot, the airline, aircraft or air traffic controller personnel, the manufacturer of a plane or plane part, or anyone else, you should contact our personal injury law firm right away.

Plane crash cases require the legal counsel of a law firm that understands the nature of plane collisions and is familiar with aviation law and the different regulations that govern the airline industry and its personnel.

Common causes of plane crashes include:

• Defective equipment
• Pilot error
• Design flaws
• Structural problems
• Federal Air Traffic Controllers negligence
• Flight Service Station employee negligence

Because of the nature of aviation accidents, deaths and catastrophic injuries can result during a crash involving a private plane, a helicopter, a small jet, a commercial airliner, or a pleasure craft. There may be more than one party who is liable for your plane crash.

Our North Carolina and South Carolina personal injury and wrongful death lawyers have represented over 30,000 clients. 90% of our cases are settled out of court. We also have an aggressive litigation team that can represent your lawsuit in court.

Investigators Say CVR May Shed Light Into NC King Air Downing, Aero-News.Net, February 4, 2008

Wreckage of crashed plane to be brought to Atlanta, AJC.com, February 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:

National Transportation Safety Board

Federal Aviation Administration

Today marks the beginning of the North Carolina Highway Patrol’s weeklong crackdown on overweight commercial trucks in a number of counties, including Mecklenburg County, Wake County, Robeson County, Guilford County, and Buncombe County. Troopers will be targeting trucks whose weight exceeds what is allowed under federal law, as well as trucks that purposely take alternate routes to avoid weighing stations. Truck safety inspections will also be conducted. Truck drivers apprehended while driving overweight trucks face stiff fines.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for overweight trucks to try and get out of having to stop at a weighing station, and state troopers have had to use portable scales to catch trucks suspected of avoiding these stations. Annually, more overweight trucks have been cited from using portable scales than from actual weighing stations.

The weeklong crackdown is the latest in a serious of efforts by North Carolina state troopers to remove overweight trucks off state roads. In 2007, they were able to detect and remove at least 200 million pounds.

Overweight Trucks
Large commercial trucks that violate federal safety standards because they weight too much are considered dangerous. Trucks that are overweight can be more difficult to drive and harder to stop. They are also more prone to rollover accidents and can more easily damage roads and bridges at a faster rate. With every excessive ton that a truck carries, the greater the chance that someone could get injured or killed during a large truck crash.

A Few Large Truck Crash Facts
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the yearly death toll caused by large truck collisions is equal to that of twenty-six large plane crashes in a year.
• The larger truck—even trucks weighing a legal 80,000 pounds—the greater the chances the commercial vehicle could become involved in a deadly truck accident.
• The larger the truck and the more it weighs, the more time it needs to brake in order to stop.

Truck accidents can be grounds for a North Carolina wrongful death claim or a personal injury lawsuit.

NC Highway Patrol to conduct truck weight crackdown, Citizen-Times, April 13, 2009

Fewer Overweight Trucks Make Safer Roads, Troopers Say, WRAL.com, December 12, 2007

The Dangers of Large Trucks, Advocates for Highway Safety

Related Web Resources:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Truck Scales Weigh Stations DOT Rules

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has written a letter to U.S. President George Bush asking him for better toy testing and stronger measures to keep dangerous toys that are made in China outside the American consumer market.

The former North Carolina Senator’s plea came on Wednesday, one day after toymaker Mattel recalled over 18.2 million toys, many of them made in China. The product recall consists of toys with small magnets that could easily fall off and be swallowed by children. Over 400,000 of the other toys that were recalled were die-cast car toys that were made with unacceptable amount of lead paint.

The recall also includes a number of Barbie toys, Batman toys, Doggie Day Care toys, and Polly Pocket toys. Mattel is the number #1 manufacturer of toys.

In another recall earlier this month, Mattel recalled more toys that were made in China because of reports of dangerous lead paint. Sesame Street and Dora The Explorer toys from Mattel’s Fisher-Price unit were among the toys recalled.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, Senator Edwards cited other instances this year when products made in China had to be recalled—a number of them involved dangerous toys.

August 2007: Mattel recalls 9 million Chinese-made toys because of toxic levels of lead paint and dangerous magnets.

July 2007: Fisher-Price recalls 967,000 plastic pre-school toys tainted with high levels of lead, made by a Chinese vendor.

June 2007: Approximately 900,000 tubes of Chinese toothpaste containing a poison used in some antifreeze products

June 2007: As many as 450,000 tires made in China were recalled after evidence that they could be subject to tread separation– a problem that led to the nation’s largest tire recall in 2000.

June 2007: The FDA issued an alert challenging imports of farm- raised seafood from China, after testing repeatedly found contamination from carcinogens and antibiotics.

June 2007: 1.5 million “Thomas & Friends” made in China are recalled because of toxic lead surface paint.

May 2007: A Chicago Tribune analysis of all lead recalls in the past 30 years since lead paint was banned in the U.S. finds the vast majority of 133 recalls involved Chinese-manufactured products.

March 2007: An estimated 3,500 pets died after eating pet food contaminated with melamine in China

March 2007: 21,000 Sky Ranger toy airplanes made in China are recalled after at least 45 explode in the vicinity of children.

February 2007: Hasbro recalls 1 million Easy-Bake ovens made in China; 77 children report burns after getting hands or fingers stuck.

The U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign offers a number of statistics and facts related to toy injuries.

• In 2004, at least 16 children (9 years of age and younger) sustained a fatal toy-related injury and died as a result.
• About 161,000 children (14 years of age and younger) had to go to the hospital because of an injury from a toy. Nearly 50% of these children were 4 years of age or younger.
• The number one cause of toy-related fatalities is choking.
• Suffocation, drowning, strangulation, and accidents involving a child riding a toy were the other main causes for toy-related fatalities.
• Most injuries involving toys take place around a child’s home.
• The head and face region are among the most common areas on the body where kids sustain injuries.

If your child is injured or killed because of a dangerous toy, you could have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the negligent party or parties.

Edwards Calls on Bush, Congress to Keep Kids Toys Safe, Campaigns and Elections, August 15, 2007

Toy Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates, Cincinnati Children’s

Related Web Resources:

Mattel Issues New Recall of Toys Made in China, New York Times, August 14, 2007

List of Toys in Mattel Recall, Forbes.com, August 14, 2007