Daughter breaks silence after JetBlue crew allegedly ignored dad having fatal stroke: ‘Are they heartless?’

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in As JetBlue flight 321 from Boston to Palm Beach International Airport came to a stop at the arrivals gate last April, John Allen Fletcher suffered a massive stroke. When Fletcher, an 89-year-old Vietnam veteran who spent more than two decades in the U.S. Air Force before embarking on a second career building jet fighter engines for Pratt and Whitney , stood up to get his carry-on bag, he immediately collapsed back into his seat, according to a wrongful death lawsuit his daughter filed in January. Sprawled across the second row of the cabin as the other passengers deplaned, Fletcher “remained immobilized in his seat unable to speak clearly, his balance impaired, his vision affected, and otherwise exhibiting the classic signs of a stroke,” the lawsuit states. It says Fletcher was “in full view” of the flight crew, who allowed everyone else to get off the aircraft while ignoring the “obvious existence of a medical emergency.” And although Fletcher was wearing a MedicAlert necklace with his daughter’s name and contact info on it, the JetBlue employees “made no effort to contact her or any other family members,” the suit contends. To maximize the chances of saving a stroke victim’s life, they must receive medical attention as soon as possible. Yet, the crew called for a “non-emergency wheelchair attendant” to come to the gate and remove Fletcher, who was by then paralyzed on his left side, from the plane. As the attendant pushed Fletcher to the baggage claim, his frantic daughter Diane Anacabe, a registered nurse who is speaking out for the first time, saw her dad slumped over and realized what was happening. “Call 911!” she shouted. But, according to Anacabe, the attendant replied, “Ma’am, I’m not allowed to do that.” open image in gallery John Allen Fletcher, seen here attending a wedding in March 2025, was in excellent health, his daughter said. She is now suing JetBlue after Fletcher suffered a stroke upon landing, and was allegedly all but ignored by the cabin crew ( Provided ) It would be another hour before Fletcher was seen by a doctor, and less than two weeks later, he would be dead. With timely intervention, Fletcher would still be alive today, his treating physician said, according to Anacabe. “I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing,” Anacabe told The Independent . “I just couldn't even believe it. Are they heartless? I don't understand it… I can’t make sense of anything that took place that day.” JetBlue did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement upon the lawsuit’s initial filing, a spokesperson said, “We take the health and safety of our customers and crewmembers very seriously.” On April 22, 2025, Fletcher, a New Hampshire resident, got himself to Boston Logan International Airport for the 3-hour, 20-minute flight to Florida. He would be turning 90 years old in six days, and his family had rented a large Airbnb to accommodate the 26 relatives on hand, including four of his seven great-grandchildren, to celebrate. Fletcher lived completely on his own, and was in good overall health, according to Anacabe’s lawsuit , which was filed January 5 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. She said he had lunch at Logan before boarding the plane, and, as the lawsuit maintains, Fletcher “walked onto the aircraft without difficulty and did not require, request, or receive any form of additional assistance.” open image in gallery At 89, Fletcher lived completely independently, traveled by himself and was in fine health, according to his daughter. He died shortly after suffering a stroke aboard a JetBlue flight that had just landed, according to a pending wrongful death lawsuit ( Provided ) Three weeks earlier, Anacabe told The Independent, Fletcher flew by himself to Nashville , where one of his granddaughters was getting married. He was at the rehearsal dinner, helped shuttle groomsmen to the ceremony and hit the dance floor at the reception, Anacabe said. For his 80th birthday, Fletcher, who went hunting twice a year and loved to fish, hiked a glacier in Alaska, according to Anacabe. “He was jumping into the pool doing cannonballs at 89,” Anacabe recalled. “I was yelling at him that he was going to break a hip, but he thought it was fun. He would be on the floor with my grandchildren, playing. The guy didn't stop.” The flight to West Palm went by without incident, Anacabe’s lawsuit states. Until, that is, the plane taxied to the gate, where Fletcher suddenly found himself immobilized by a stroke. Fletcher’s speech, which had been perfectly fine up to that point, was now garbled, and he was in “visible distress,” the lawsuit says. Slumped over across the second row of seats, Fletcher tried to get the attention of the crew and other passengers exiting the aircraft, to no avail, according to the suit. Eventually, one fellow traveler asked Fletcher if he was OK, and he “responded in the negative,” the suit continues. The other passenger then told a crewmember that Fletcher needed help, the suit goes on. Yet, the JetBlue staffer “made no effort whatsoever to obtain medical attention” for him. “Instead of contacting emergency medical personnel or Mr. Fletcher’s family members, JetBlue placed a request for a non-emergency wheelchair attendant to come to the gate,” the lawsuit alleges. It took three people to lift Fletcher into the wheelchair, according to Anacabe. By now, Anacabe, who was waiting at the baggage claim with her husband, had begun to worry, she said. open image in gallery Fletcher's daughter contends her father was dumped 'like a piece of garbage' at the Palm Beach International Airport baggage claim following a massive stroke ( Getty Images ) “My dad didn't come down, didn't come down, didn’t come down,” Anacabe told The Independent . “I thought, ‘OK, he went to the bathroom.’” Anacabe was tracking her father’s phone, and saw that he was in the terminal, she explained. At last, Anacabe spotted Fletcher, whose left arm was nearly dragging on the floor, being wheeled into the baggage claim area, she said. Anacabe ran over to him and immediately knew her father was deep in the throes of a stroke , according to the lawsuit. But, it maintains, the airport attendant “adamantly refused” to call , citing company policy, and walked away. Instead, Anacabe dialed for help and then waited for emergency services to arrive. A full hour after flight 321 had landed, first responders had Fletcher en route to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where Anacabe works, and which has a comprehensive stroke center. “It felt like forever,” she said. “Palm Beach Fire Rescue has a station right at PBI. I just can't even fathom why the decisions that were made, were made.” For the next 13 days, Fletcher’s health continued to decline, according to the lawsuit. He turned 90 in the St. Mary’s ICU, and by May 5, he died. Fletcher was buried in the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery , with full military honors, on July 25, 2025. open image in gallery A JetBlue crew was negligent in failing to get appropriate help Fletcher, according to a lawsuit filed by his daughter ( AFP via Getty Images ) JetBlue “owed Mr. Fletcher a duty to render aid and assistance following his medical emergency,” Anacabe’s lawsuit states. “JetBlue’s outrageous disregard for Mr. Fletcher’s health and safety amounted to violations of JetBlue’s own internal policy which established the minimum standard of care for its flight crews in emergency situations,” it says. Fletcher, according to Anacabe, “was incredible.” She said she remains tormented by having witnessed her father being “dumped like a piece of garbage” at the airport’s baggage claim. Anacabe and her three sisters, Pamela, Deborah and Donna, are now seeking money damages from JetBlue and ABM Aviation, which employed the wheelchair attendant, to be determined by a jury. JetBlue, for its part, denied the allegations in a motion to dismiss Anacabe’s lawsuit. Earlier this month, that motion was denied. “Had I been on that plane, and saw somebody like that, I wouldn't have walked past,” Anacabe told The Independent . “... We feel very, very strongly that if we don't do something, this is going to happen to someone else.”