The five plane cleaners who died when an Amazon cargo aircraft collided with their vehicle at Miami airport were completing an eight-hour shift, lawyers for one victim said Wednesday.
Two other crew members were hospitalized for days after their Econoline van was struck by the speeding jet. Investigators said the plane seemed to reconsider landing Sunday before running out of runway.
Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53, came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2011 and worked multiple jobs for 14 years, said attorney Jorge Garcia. Garcia, a family friend, filed a wrongful death suit against Amazon, operator 21 Air, and the pilots.
Naranjo was working a 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift for Professional Ocean Service Corp. His wife texted frantically when he failed to arrive home on time, then found a news story online after seeing her texts went unread, Garcia said.
Naranjo was a "very hardworking man, very loved by his wife, very loved by his son, and as you can imagine what they’ve gone through is really unimaginable," Garcia said at an online news conference.
Killed alongside Naranjo were Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
Survivors Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, and Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, remained in critical condition in the hospital Tuesday, the sheriff's office reported.
Professional Ocean Service Corp. has cleaned planes at Miami International Airport for at least 15 years.
"Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved," the company said in a post-crash statement.
The company disinfects and cleans private and commercial jets inside and out, including cabin painting and carpet replacement, according to photos on its website.
Crews carry mops, brooms, and supplies up and down stairs, reaching into seat backs under fast-paced conditions.
"They’re in a van. They get rushed to the airplane and are standing by on the jetway when the airplane arrives. The minute the passengers are off, their foreman is rushing them to get into that airplane to grab every piece of trash, do a wipe down of the bathrooms and countertops, and get the heck out of there," said Soma Priddle, a retired commercial airline captain and attorney representing aviation workers.
Inside, workers encounter harsh cleaners, bodily fluids, and contaminants; outside, they face hydraulic fluid, jet fuel, and de-icing fluids, she noted.
Tight turnaround times mean contractors can't keep cleaning agreements long if they miss deadlines, Priddle stated.
"It’s a god-awful job," she said. "They work long hours. They’re just pushed and pushed and pushed."
Employees typically have little experience and receive near minimum wage without benefits, said Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ Service Employees International Union, which represents over 20,000 East Coast airport workers.
"It’s an incredibly hard job and not as well compensated as it should be," said Pastreich, whose union did not represent the Miami crew.
A union report this year on Charlotte Douglas International Airport found worker shortages left crews feeling rushed, with over half at the airport a year or less.
