Lawsuit: Dead man found in jet's bathroom

updated 11:36 a.m. ET April 12, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS - An airline passenger died in the restroom during a flight and wasn’t found until the cleaning crew boarded the plane after it landed, a federal lawsuit contends.

The passenger, Taisuke Matsuo, 66, apparently had a heart attack on an American Airlines flight from Tokyo to Chicago during the first leg of a trip home to Indianapolis, according to the lawsuit filed Monday by his wife, Carolyn D. Watts.

The lawsuit accuses American Airlines of negligence and seeks damages of about $150,000.

After the plane landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on April 13, 2005, passengers and flight crew disembarked and the jet was taken to another gate for cleaning. Workers then discovered the bathroom was locked from the inside and found Matsuo’s body — about two hours after the jet landed.

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Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas, said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

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