US Air handler trapped in the baggage hold!

[mary meagher]

Passengers heard him thumping and shouting, while the pilot of the Embraer E170 was wondering what had happened to the ground handler who was also scheduled to do the pushback from the gate at Reagan Airport, Washington DC on Monday morning, Feb. 7.

[SeenItAll]

Dr. Gridlock - Baggage handler trapped at National (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2011/02/baggage_handler_trapped_at_nat.html?hpid=newswell)

More info here. Pretty tight baggage hold.

[visibility3miles]

Evidently another baggage handler had closed the cargo compartment door on the first worker, who had crawled into the space, just 37 inches high, while loading baggage.

A spokesman for US Airways, James T. Olson, said that the airline was investigating the incident and that ramp personnel were told to put safety first. The plane, with 76 seats, carried only 29 passengers, mostly business travelers who did not check much luggage.

"It was a light passenger load, a light luggage load, and there was no condition to require anyone to be rushing," Olson said.
Baggage handler rescued on plane | Deseret News (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700108272/Baggage-handler-rescued-on-plane.html)

[VBPCGUY]

They are pretty tight, but clearly procedures have failed I handle these aircraft and with the webbing that needs to be secured across the front of the hold door before its shut how he was left in there shouldnt happen.

[stator vane]

he didn't wish to end up in Hartford! ha!

[mantug01]

This happens quite often!

But mostly its your workmates that are trying to wind you up

[youngskywalker]

Been there, got the t-shirt...

15 years on the memory of my incident frightens me more than it did at the time!

[Two's in]

US Air are taking this incident very seriously as it appears nobody paid the $25 required to have the handler as checked baggage. :)

[Hogger60]

And they are even angrier about the fact that he weighed more than 50lbs, and that would have been another $90!!

[Rwy in Sight]

I take there was not a baggage/pax reconciliation...



Rwy in Sight