Allegiant Passenger Dies After being Pushed by Crew Member Getting Onto Plane

What should have been a simple boarding process turned into a nightmare no family should ever witness.

Now, the devastated family of 24-year-old Hunter Adkins is suing Allegiant Air, claiming a deadly chain of negligence led to his shocking death — all in front of his father and 9-year-old brother.

Adkins, who suffered from muscular dystrophy, was boarding a flight at Huntington Tri-State Airport in West Virginia on March 28, 2024, when everything went horribly wrong.

According to the lawsuit, the chaos began when the plane’s captain allegedly pushed staff to hurry up and get passengers onboard. In that frantic rush, critical safety protocols were allegedly ignored — with catastrophic consequences.

Adkins required specialized assistance to safely board the aircraft, including a narrow aisle wheelchair and multiple trained attendants. But the lawsuit claims those protections were never provided.

Instead, just one crew member reportedly attempted to push him — still in his motorized wheelchair — through the plane’s entry.

That’s when disaster struck.

The wheelchair suddenly tipped, sending Adkins crashing face-first onto the ground. Unable to catch himself, he was pinned beneath the weight of his own chair — a horrifying scene that unfolded right in front of his family.

He was rushed to the hospital, but the injuries were too severe. Just 15 hours later, Adkins was dead.

The lawsuit alleges the situation should never have happened. Federal regulations, the family claims, required at least two trained attendants — but staff had allegedly been pulled away to load luggage as the crew scrambled to avoid delays.

Even more disturbing, the complaint says crew members nearby watched the unsafe boarding unfold — and did nothing to stop it.

“Despite being able to see how [he] was improperly boarding… crew members did nothing,” the lawsuit states.

Now, the family is demanding justice, filing a wrongful death lawsuit and calling the incident entirely preventable.

Allegiant Air has declined to comment on the specifics, citing ongoing litigation, but said in a statement it extends its “deepest sympathies.”

For the Adkins family, those words ring hollow.

They say their son didn’t just fall — he was failed at every step.