While an Air Canada aircraft was making its way to the runway, an unexpected commotion arose as a baggage handler’s cries for help could be heard from within the cargo hold.
Flight AC1502, scheduled to depart from Toronto’s Pearson Airport to Moncton, New Brunswick, on December 13, encountered a delay when the cargo hold doors accidentally closed, trapping a crew member inside. This information was shared by the airline in a statement to The National Post.
As the plane was taxiing, passengers heard screams, Stephanie Cure, a travel blogger, wrote in an Instagram post.
A passenger, Cure, recalled hearing the handler’s pleas from inside the aircraft: “We had already started taxiing when a member of the baggage crew, trapped below in the cargo area, was yelling for help and banging on the structure beneath us.”
She captured the event on video, which included an announcement addressing the unusual incident: “I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” she noted.
“This is a first, and hopefully the last time. We had to return to the gate to safely release the individual. The good news is that the person is unharmed and safe,” she added.
Following the discovery that the ground crew member was uninjured, the plane made its way back to the gate, as confirmed by Air Canada’s statement.
The announcement noted that they had to fill out some paperwork before getting on their way, which prompted another passenger to say, ‘They’re gonna fill out an accident report,’ as she laughed.
Flight AC1502 was delayed from taking off from Pearson Airport in Toronto to Moncton after a baggage handler was discovered in the cargo hold (Stock Image)
Passengers aboard the plane said they heard screaming and banging as the plane began to taxi
Cure added that they never made it to Moncton that day and said the airline attributed delays due to circumstances out of their control.
Additionally, Gabrielle Caron told CBC that passengers toward the rear of the plane could hear the screams as well, and added that she knew something wasn’t right when airport staff surrounded the plane and flight attendants appeared concerned.
‘We’re noticing the flight attendants are kinda running back and forth in the airplane, and on the ground, we could see the crew gathering around the plane,’ said Caron. ‘So we knew something was happening.’
She added that she was grateful for the outcome and that everyone got home safely, noting that she knew it could have been much worse.
Despite the terrifying circumstances, John Gradek, an aviation industry expert, told CBC that the handler would not have been in danger due to the lack of threat of hypothermia or asphyxiation.
Gradek speculated that investigators will ask questions about the ground crew member’s state of mind and whether they were alert at the time of the incident.
The airline added in its statement to the National Post that it has reinforced its procedures with its ground crews following the potential safety issue.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Air Canada for comment.
Air Canada said in a statement that the baggage handler was unharmed and have reinforced its procedures with its ground crews (Stock Image)
A passenger aboard the plane noted that their flight was later cancelled
The incident drew online criticism of the airline, with many suggesting safety procedures that could prevent a similar accident.
One user wrote: ‘Radios should be carried by all ramp crew.. I know the Lead always does, but everyone should have a radio for safety reasons.’
Another added: ‘There should be some sort of button in there so the pilots can be alerted. Can’t be all that difficult to engineer.’
A third noted: ‘Happen enough to warrant something like a lock-out tag on the doorway? Go in, put your “don’t close the freaking door” tag on, remove when you leave.’
In April, a judge unleashed on a shirtless baggage handler who was seeking a memento for his last day of work.
Preslie Ginoski’s video of him flexing his biceps and doing push-ups centimetres from the engine fan went viral on TikTok in January.
The bodybuilding fan, 23, pleaded guilty to threatening aviation safety and failing to wear a safety lanyard in Sydney Airport’s security zone as a magistrate slammed him for being stupid, vain and irresponsible.
