CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — The family of a Charlotte teen who is thought to have stowed away on a flight from Charlotte has hired an attorney and will likely sue.
VIDEO: Family Of Teen In Stowaway Investigation Hires Attorney
Attorney Christopher Chestnut, of The Chestnut Firm in Gainesville, Fla., announced in a press release Tuesday that the family of Delvonte Tisdale is retaining his services.
Chestnut said the family blames both Charlotte-Douglas Airport officials and U.S. Airways officials for an alleged lapse in security that may have allowed Tisdale to sneak onto a plane bound for Boston.
Airport officials declined to comment on Tuesday.
U.S. Airways officials also declined to comment, citing the fact that the police investigation into Tisdale's death is still underway.
Chestnut said the family believes if airport security measures had been up to par, Tisdale would still be alive.
He said the alleged security breach has far-reaching implications.
"Somewhere along the lines, either the airport or airline or both failed to follow those procedures properly," Chesnut said. "It resulted in the death of Delvonte but more importantly is risking the lives of other Americans."
Tisdale's mutilated body was found in Milton, Mass., a suburb of Boston, on Nov.15. It was a day after he was last seen at his home in north Charlotte.
In early December, Massachusetts authorities said they had found scuff marks and what appeared to be handprints in a wheel well, as well as what seemed to be traces of aviation grease on Tisdale's pants.
They said they think Tisdale sneaked onto an airplane at Charlotte-Douglas Airport and stowed away in the plane's wheel well. Officials said they think his body fell to the ground as the plane approached Boston and let down its landing gear.
On Dec. 14, the airport's aviation director, Jerry Orr, announced he had asked the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to put together a task force to investigate how someone could have sneaked onto the tarmac.
The findings of that investigation have not yet been released.
A spokesperson with the Norfolk County District Attorney's office said lab results that could confirm the grease on Tisdale's pants matches the grease on the plane in question have still not come back.