The widow of a van driver who died in a recent Amazon cargo plane crash has brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the e-commerce giant and two pilots connected to the flight.
Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53, was killed on September 6 after Amazon Air Flight 7598 overshot the runway at Miami International Airport.
Authorities said Naranjo was among five people who died when the jet went beyond the runway and crashed into vehicles on a nearby road. Five others were injured in the impact.
His wife, Yaraisi Santiso Morejon, is suing Amazon, Inc., Amazon Air Cargo, 21 Air LLC, affiliated companies involved in the aircraft’s operation, the plane’s lessors, and pilots Joseph Carroll and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina.
According to a complaint obtained by the Daily Mail, the lawsuit alleges a series of overlapping failures contributed to the crash, including pilot error, insufficient training and the use of a 32-year-old aircraft.
‘This disaster was not an unavoidable accident,’ the complaint states. ‘It was the foreseeable and preventable result of multiple, concurrent failures.’
The widow of van driver Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53, submitted a lawsuit against Amazon and two pilots
The complaint submitted on behalf of Yaraisi Santiso Morejon alleges failures, including alleged pilot error, inadequate training and the deployment of a 32-year-old aircraft
The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off the runway at Miami International Airport have been identified
John Morgan, founder of Morgan & Morgan, which submitted the complaint, said: ‘Our hearts go out to Yaraisi and her family, as well as all those who were impacted by what we believe was a preventable tragedy.
‘No one should lose their loved one this way, and the filing of this lawsuit is just the beginning of our fight to secure justice and accountability for Mr. Naranjo’s death. We will not rest until everyone who played a role in this horrific crash is held accountable.
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Morgan & Morgan attorney, Mike Morgan, added: ‘We allege that this was not a freak accident, but a foreseeable and preventable disaster caused by negligence.
‘What we’ve already uncovered points to a series of failures by the people flying the plane, the companies that put it in the air and the systems that were supposed to prevent this exact kind of tragedy. Yaraisi deserves answers and justice. We intend to get her both.’
The aircraft slammed into a van then through a fence, and then onto a street where it destroyed an SUV.
The Boeing 767 slammed into two vehicles as it tried to land on the tarmac on Sunday
Miami International Airport is not equipped with the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) that has been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide and helps slow down jets that overshoot runways. Above, the technology in use in Boca Raton, Florida, last year
The five were all in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp, a contract cleaning company for airline companies, NBC News reported.
‘Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day; they are family, and they are deeply loved,’ the firm said in a statement.
‘Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed. We grieve with those who lost a loved one and pray for the healing and recovery of those who were injured.’
The five victims were identified as Naranjo, Rolando Aleman, 55, Julio C Pineda, 75, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
This is a developing story.