This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Alaska Airlines bans cargo worker after plane took off with him asleep in hold
Sorry - this page has been removed.
(about 21 hours later)
A contract baggage handler who became trapped in the belly of an Alaska Airlines jet taking off from Seattle has been banned from all future work at the airline, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
The employee of Menzies Aviation, which is contracted to provide ground services for Alaska Airlines, was an unintended stowaway on Flight 448 when he woke up from a nap inside the sealed baggage area and realised the plane was airborne.
The pilot of the Los Angeles-bound flight turned the jet around to make a safe but unscheduled emergency landing back at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after the crew and passengers heard banging from below the cabin and flight deck.
For further information, please contact:
Emerging unhurt from the plane, the wayward baggage handler told authorities he had dozed off inside the front portion of the cargo hold before takeoff.
He later passed a drug test and was released from a hospital where he was taken for evaluation, the airline said.
The worker, who has not been publicly identified, was never in any immediate danger because the cargo compartment where he was trapped was pressurised and temperature-controlled, airline officials said.
But in a 911-emergency call placed after awaking inside he belly of the plane, the worker pleaded with the operator for help, screaming “I can’t breathe” before the connection was lost, according to a recording released by airport authorities on Thursday.
Also on Thursday a spokesman for Menzies Aviation, a subsidiary of UK-based John Menzies, said the worker remained employed pending the outcome of an investigation.
But an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman, Bobbie Egan, told Reuters: “The employee has been permanently banned from ever working again on an Alaska Airlines operation.”
She did not elaborate but said workers were not permitted to sleep on the job. She said coworkers had noticed he was missing before the jet took off and tried calling his cell phone without success, then “figured he had left his shift”.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was still investigating.
