- An Air Canada Rouge ground crew member was trapped in a cargo hold at Toronto airport.
- Flight AC1502 to Moncton turned back after passengers heard screams from the cargo area.
- The cargo door closed inadvertently while the worker was inside, with no injuries reported.
An investigation has been launched after a ground crew member at Toronto Pearson International Airport was trapped in the cargo hold of an Air Canada Rouge plane last month. Flight AC1502, bound for Moncton, New Brunswick, was forced to turn back to the departure gates after the worker's screams were heard as the plane taxied towards the runway.
The incident took place on December 13 on the Airbus 321A, which can carry up to 184 passengers. As the plane neared the runway, some of the passengers at the back heard muffled sounds of a person screaming.
"Some of the people who were sitting towards the back of the plane heard the person screaming and banging, trying to get their attention," a passenger named Gabrielle Caron was quoted as saying by CBC.
"We're noticing the Flight Attendants are kind of running back and forth in the airplane and on the ground. We could see the crew gathering around the plane, so we knew something was happening."
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Flight Delayed
According to Air Canada, the cargo doors were "inadvertently closed" while a member of the ground crew was inside. The airline added that the worker was later let out of the cargo hold and that no injuries were reported.
While the crew member was saved, the flight was delayed after the pilot's work hours "timed out", and they could not continue with the trip. The flight was originally scheduled to leave at 2 pm local time, but a lack of clarity from the airline meant that the flight was cancelled and passengers were notified around 1:15 am the next day.
"Later on the second day, at 8 pm, the plane eventually left," the report highlighted.
A passenger later posted a video of the moment the pilot informed the passengers that a crew member was trapped inside the plane.
"I've never had that in my life. First time, hopefully first and last," the pilot can be heard saying in the video.
"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 Instagram user wrote in the caption.
Authorities are yet to hear
