The family of a man who died in a baggage vehicle accident at Charlotte Douglas International Airport last year has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines and the city of Charlotte.
The victim of the Aug. 11 accident was 24-year-old Kendrick Hudson. Texas law firm Hilliard Martinez Gonzales filed the suit last month in Mecklenburg County Court on behalf of Hudson’s mother and father, Erika Vernon and Leon Hudson, according to the complaint.
Hudson, a Mecklenburg County resident, was an employee of Piedmont Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines.
He was transporting baggage on an airport vehicle called a tug near E Concourse, police have said, when he made a hard turn to avoid a piece of luggage and the vehicle rolled over and pinned him.
The city owns and runs the airport through the Aviation Department, but the airport operates using revenue, not taxpayer money.
“The Airport’s number one priority is the safety and security of our passengers and the men and women who work here,” Charlotte Douglas airport said in a statement to the Observer responding to the lawsuit. “The Airport and our partners constantly review safety and security measures.”
Hudson’s parents will hold a news conference at the airport Tuesday afternoon with lawyer Alex Hilliard and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is best-known for representing the families of Trayvon Martin, a black teen fatally shot in Florida in 2012, and Michael Brown, a black teen fatally shot by a white police officer in Missouri in 2014.
Union safety concerns
Months after Hudson’s death, airport workers say conditions at the airport haven’t improved.
Donielle Prophete, vice president for CWA Local 3645, which represents 1,700 Piedmont Airlines agents including Hudson, said the lighting near E Concourse is so bad, agents call it “Death Valley.”
And Prophete said there hasn’t been any change in lighting since Hudson’s death.
Hilliard told the Observer that the union had warned airport management about the poor lighting before Hudson’s death.
“Their concerns were being heard and their concerns were being ignored,” Hilliard said.
Prophete brought her concerns to Congress Jan. 15, in a subcommittee meeting of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The panel is investigating working conditions for airline ground workers.
Ongoing investigations
The airport commissioned a lighting study last year, and airport officials told the Observer they received the completed evaluation this month, but have not implemented any changes yet.
“We are now working to confirm the lighting study’s recommendations will pose no threat to aircraft movement or safety on the ramp before implementing any changes,” the airport said in a statement.
The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the death, but has not yet released its findings, spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry said last week.
American Airlines spokeswoman Crystal Byrd said no cause has been determined yet by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division.
“Our condolences are with the family of Mr. Hudson,” Byrd said in a statement last week. “Safety is our number one priority and the first consideration in every decision we make and we are committed to providing a safe work environment for all of our team members.”
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