Son of Amazon cargo plane crash victim says he survived only because he was home sick with appendicitis

The family of one of five airplane cleaning company employees killed when an Amazon cargo plane struck their work van has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Rolando Aleman died in the Sept. 6 crash alongside four colleagues. His son, Duviel Aleman, said he would have been in the van as well, but was at home recovering from appendicitis.

"From the bottom of my heart, I feel bad," Duviel Aleman said in Spanish, sharing that he lives with survivor's guilt. "We came together to this country 10 years ago to make a living. It's been very hard for us, for the entire family, because my father was such a great person".

Attorney Judd Rosen, representing the family, filed the lawsuit against Amazon, flight operator 21Air, and several other entities.

"It's been almost three weeks since five innocent members of our community lost their lives and to this day no one has accepted any responsibility for what happened," Rosen said.

The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the crash.

21Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Amazon did not address the lawsuit directly but said it remains fully committed to supporting the NTSB's investigation and is coordinating with 21Air.

"On the ground in Miami, Amazon leaders have been working through local officials to reach out to the families affected by this tragedy and to determine other ways we can support the community," Amazon stated, adding that it will share more as efforts take shape.