Disabled Passenger Dies After Falling from Wheelchair During Airline Boarding

A grieving family is taking legal action against Allegiant Air, alleging a heartbreaking chain of failures led to the death of a 24-year-old man who couldn’t protect himself when things went horribly wrong.

Hunter Adkins, who lived with muscular dystrophy, was preparing to board a flight at Huntington Tri-State Airport on March 28, 2024, alongside his father and 9-year-old brother. What should have been a routine boarding quickly turned into a nightmare, according to a lawsuit reviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The suit claims the situation spiraled after a captain allegedly pushed staff to speed things up and get passengers onboard quickly. In that rush, critical safety steps were ignored.

According to the complaint, Adkins was not provided the federally required assistance for passengers with significant mobility needs. He should have had multiple attendants and a specialized narrow “aisle wheelchair” designed for safely navigating aircraft entryways. Instead, the lawsuit alleges he was left with just one staff member and no proper equipment.

That’s when tragedy struck.

As an attendant attempted to move him through the aircraft doorway, Adkins’ motorized wheelchair reportedly tipped over. Unable to brace himself due to his condition, he fell face-first onto the ground, with the heavy chair crashing down on top of him — all in front of his father and young brother.

The injuries were catastrophic. Adkins was rushed to the hospital but died roughly 15 hours later from blunt force trauma, the lawsuit states.

Family members argue this never should have happened. Federal guidelines, they say, require at least two trained attendants for passengers in his condition, along with proper boarding equipment. Instead, staff were allegedly reassigned to handle luggage as the flight crew rushed to depart.

Even more troubling, the complaint claims multiple crew members witnessed the unsafe boarding process but failed to step in.

“Despite being able to see how the wheelchair assistant was improperly boarding Hunter E. Adkins, crew members at the plane’s entrance did nothing,” the lawsuit alleges.

The family is now seeking a jury trial and damages exceeding $15,000, hoping to hold the airline accountable and prevent something like this from happening again.

In a brief statement, Allegiant Air expressed sympathy but declined to discuss the case due to ongoing litigation.