Around an hour ago I was catching up on the evening news when a “breaking report” came in. An Alaska Airlines flight had experienced an emergency landing. The reason – loud banging and screaming from the cargo hold after takeoff! I immediately turned to MrsMJ and said “betcha he was asleep.” Alaska is now out with a statement on their blog.
“Flight 448, bound for Los Angeles, returned to Seattle shortly after departure today after it was discovered that a ramp agent was still in the cargo hold. The aircraft was in the air for 14 minutes.
After landing, the agent, an employee of Menzies Aviation, walked off the aircraft from the front cargo hold, which is pressurized and temperature controlled. Upon exiting, he told authorities he had fallen asleep. The agent was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. We are actively investigating this matter.”
How’d That Happen?
Even a big airline at a busy hub sometimes has a little slack in the schedule. While I’m fairly sure Alaska and its contractor, Menzies Aviation, have a rule about not sleeping on the job, even if you are on a break, sometimes things happen. A ramp employee with a little spare time, a cargo hold, maybe even with a few bags to hide behind, nap. Unfortunately for this individual, things didn’t quite go as planned. Perhaps his fellow ground crew wasn’t looking out for him either. In any event, I’ll bet there are a lot of suits walking around the ramp in Seattle right now. I’m just glad no one got hurt. (Image courtesy of Alaska Airlines)
-MJ, April 13, 2015
