The family of Bernice Kekona is suing Alaska Airlines and its contractor after the 75-year-old widowed, grandmother fell down the escalator and died months later.
Kekona landed in Portland, Ore., in June 2017 on her return from a family vacation to Maui. The family’s attorney, Brook Cunningham, said they requested a wheelchair assistance service to escort Kekona to her connecting flight, but airport surveillance tapes show her wandering the airport unattended.
According to a statement from Cunningham, “she was provided assistance off the plane and into her wheelchair by Alaska’s company that they contract with, Huntleigh, and then she was left there, and she became confused, and that led to the fall.”
The lawsuit indicates that Kekona appeared to confuse an escalator for an elevator. She fell down head-first while several people tried to help her.
“I couldn’t understand how a wonderful trip ended up so devastating,” said Kekona’s daughter Darlene Bloyed in a video statement.
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A wound on Kekona’s right foot became infected a few months later, CBS reports, leading to amputation below the knee. One day after the surgery, Kekona passed away in September 2017.
“All they needed was somebody to get her off the plane, use the escort service that they’re required by law to provide, and she would have been home perfectly fine,” said Cunningham in a video statement.
Alaska airlines issued this initial statement to ABC News affiliate KXLY expressing regret for the events leading up to Kekona’s death:
“After landing in Portland, Ms. Kekona was assisted into her own motorized scooter by an airport consortium wheelchair service provider who then escorted her from the aircraft into the concourse. Once in the concourse, she went off on her own. We learned from bystanders that Ms. Kekona sustained a fall while attempting to operate her own electronic chair down a moving escalator next to the A concourse elevator. We immediately called the Port of Portland Fire and Rescue, along with Port of Portland Police, who responded to the scene quickly to provide her medical treatment.”
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The airline then followed up with an initial statement claiming that a preliminary investigation had revealed Kekona refused additional assistance in the terminal.
“We don’t have all the facts, but after conducting a preliminary investigation, it appears that Ms. Kekona declined ongoing assistance in the terminal and decided to proceed on her own to her connecting flight. It also appears that when her family members booked the reservation, they did not check any of the boxes for a passenger with ‘Blind/low vision,’ ‘Deaf/hard of hearing,’ or ‘Other special needs (i.e., developmental or intellectual disability, senior/elderly).’ So, there was no indication in the reservation that Ms. Kekona had cognitive, visual, or auditory impairments.”
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ABC also received comment from the company contracted by Alaska Airlines to provide disability services — Huntleigh USA Corporation — regarding the lawsuit and received the following response.
“Huntleigh USA Corporation is investigating the facts of this case in co-operation with our legal counsel.”
According to the United States Department of Transportation, airlines are required to assist impaired passengers “with boarding, deplaning and making connections.”
In addition, airlines are required to make provisions to “address treatment of mobility aids and assistive devices, passenger information, accommodations for persons with vision and hearing impairments, security screening, communicable diseases and medical certificates, and service animals.”
Global News reached out to Alaska Airlines and Huntleigh USA Corporation for comment on the lawsuit and received no response.
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