Originally Posted by
etrang
If the ramp personnel had missed this, at what point would the pilots have realised their mistake?
A number of different triggers could have revealed this... talking to the ground crew for engine start-push back, when no passengers showed up near departure time, when the agent came looking for the pilots, when the next crew showed up, when the Capt gave the pax a weather briefing for ATL and they were going elsewhere.
VERY unlikely they would have gotten off the gate BUT it has happened.