Baggage Handler Rides to Mexico in Cargo Class
This story is a familiar one, I can remember similar incidents at Eastern and FedEx in years past. Usually fatigue is a factor <g>.
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Baggage handler trapped in cargo hold during flight to Mexico
04/11/2001
By Terri Langford / The Dallas Morning News
A baggage handler in Dallas took an unexpected flight to Mexico this morning.
While loading luggage for charter carrier Champion Air, the baggage handler somehow got locked in the pressurized cargo hold of a 727. Although he tried to notify the plane's crew by knocking on the walls, he was unable to get out until the plane landed in Puerto Vallarta at about 7:47 a.m. local time.
The man, whose name has not been released, works for Servisair, a private contractor.
There were 54 passengers aboard the flight, which left Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 5:57 a.m. Although the crew reported hearing a knocking sound, they checked the plane, determined it was fine and took off as scheduled.
"It was not exactly comfortable, but it was a pressurized area," said Elizabeth Costello, a spokeswoman for Champion Air, of Bloomington, Minn. "He is fine."
The airline is investigating the incident.