Baggage handler trapped, heard ‘banging’ on Air Canada flight at Toronto Pearson Airport

A baggage handler on an Air Canada flight was found trapped after passengers reportedly heard banging and screaming.

The incident occurred on Air Canada Rouge flight AC1502 bound for Moncton from Toronto Pearson Airport on Dec. 13, Air Canada said in an emailed statement to INsauga.com.

The aircraft cargo doors were “inadvertently closed while a member of the ground crew was inside” the cargo hold, Air Canada said. The plane had started to taxi to a runway, but it returned before takeoff.

“Upon discovery, the aircraft returned to the gate,” Air Canada said in the email. “There were no injuries, but as this presented a potential safety issue, we have reinforced our procedures with our ground crews.”

Details of the incident emerged after several social media posts.

In a post on Reddit, a passenger said their flight was scheduled to leave at 2 p.m. on Dec. 13, but they didn’t board until 6:30 p.m. Then, at 7:30 p.m., they were told someone was stuck in the luggage hold.

“I was on this flight,” one person wrote on the Reddit post. “He was banging and screaming below.”

A video posted on Instagram captures an announcement telling passengers about the person in the baggage hold.

“We had already started taxiing when a baggage crew member was under the aircraft in the cargo and could be heard yelling for help and banging underneath us,” the traveller said on Instagram.

Air Canada didn’t respond to questions about when the passengers were able to fly out, but reports on social media indicate they were put on standby for a flight to Moncton the next day.

Although rare, there are reports of this type of issue happening in the past.

On Jan. 1, 2017, a baggage handler was found trapped in the cargo hold after an hour-long flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington’s Dulles International Airport. In this case, the man was found unharmed after the flight landed in Dulles.

Over a year later, in October 2018, an American Airlines baggage handler fell asleep on the job and ended up flying from Kansas City to Chicago in the cargo hold of a Boeing 737. He was also unharmed.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with comments from Air Canada.

Lead photo: Steve Knight