A baggage handler was trapped inside the baggage area of a United Express Embraer 175 regional jet on Sunday while the jet flew from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Dulles Airport, in Washington, D.C., according to various news reports on Tuesday. The flight took off about 3 p.m. and landed on schedule about 90 minutes later. “An employee of the airline’s ground-handling vendor was found unharmed in the aircraft’s cargo hold,” United Express said in a statement to Charlotte’s local Fox news station. The airline said it is investigating the incident. The baggage handler, identified as Reginald Gaskin, 45, told a Washington Post reporter his lawyer advised him not to discuss the matter, adding, “I thank God. He was with me.”
The jet flew to 27,000 feet, according to the Post. United officials told the Charlotte Observer the cargo hold was temperature-controlled and pressurized. Crews became aware the handler might be aboard, and emergency crews were ready after landing and immediately accessed the hold to release him. Similar incidents have occurred at least four times since 2005, according to the Observer; all of the handlers survived. The flight was operated by Mesa Airlines.
