Man Who Lost Wife, Son Sues Airline in N.Y. Crash

A man whose wife and adopted son died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 sued the airline Thursday, alleging it was negligent in inspections.

Reyna Brito Prospero, 49, and Wilberto Pablito Brito, 9, were among the 260 people on the plane that crashed Nov. 12 in a New York City neighborhood. All the passengers and crew and five people on the ground were killed.

The plane had just taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to the Dominican Republic.

Wigberto Prospero of New York filed the lawsuit in federal court in Dallas, where American is based. The lawsuit alleges the airline failed to properly inspect the mechanical and structural components of the Airbus A300 series aircraft.

Safety investigators have said the tail fin, or vertical stabilizer, on the plane fell off before the jet slammed into the neighborhood.

An American Airlines spokesman would not comment on the suit. A similar lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles in November on behalf of another passenger.