Baggage Handler Trapped In Cargo Bay Called 911 After Plane Took-Off: Listen To The Audio

Two days ago, the Inquisitr reported about the rather strange case of a baggage handler at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport waking up from a nap only to find himself trapped inside the cargo bay of a plane. The worst part? The plane had already taken off from the airport with the man still inside the cargo hold. Minutes after the Alaska Airlines Flight 448 took off from Seattle-Tacoma international Airport, people inside the plane heard alarming, banging noises coming from the cargo bay of the aircraft. After the flight crew deduced that there was a person trapped inside the cargo bay, the plane turned around and made an emergency landing back at the Seattle Airport.

In a new development in the same case, police officials investigating the case announced that the baggage handler had made a call to 911 after the plane took off. They have released the short audio clip in which the audibly alarmed baggage handler is heard trying to explain where he was at, a CNN report said. The clip is less than a minute in length and in it, he is heard desperately trying to explain the confused dispatcher about his location. It is unclear at this stage if he alerted the crew (and passengers) on board Alaska Airlines Flight 448 after or before this call was made. The call only lasted 48 seconds, after which the handler seems to have lost cellular connectivity.

“I’m inside a plane. I feel like it’s moving in the air,” he tells the operator. “Flight 448. Can you please tell somebody stop it?”

The operator the responds by asking:

“Where are you in a plane at?”

To which he replies:

“I’m inside the plane. Alaska Airlines Flight 448. “

Then operator asks;

“Are you at the airport?”

After this, the audio is distorted and at the end of it, the man is heard screaming and saying “I… can’t… breathe!”

The call disconnects at this point. According to officials, the dispatcher tried calling back on the number – but it went to voicemail.

In a telephonic interview, NBC News managed to speak to the baggage handler a day after the incident. The un-named baggage handler said he considers himself lucky because the area in which he fell asleep was pressurized and air-conditioned. He said he felt “good” after he managed to survive the ordeal while adding that he was “tired” at the end of it.

While it is unclear if the baggage handler would be allowed to continue his job, an Alaska Airlines spokesperson has confirmed that he would not be allowed to work on Alaska Airlines flights henceforth. The man has been employed by Menzies Aviation – a company that handles baggages for several airlines.

However, since the dispatcher had the person’s number, she was able to quickly retrieve the identity of the person who had called in. She then called up a local police dispatcher who was equally confused when she told him what had happened.

“I just had this guy call, and he said he was on Alaska Flight 448, and he was screaming at me and saying he couldn’t breathe and he was stuck on the flight,” she tells him.

“So, we are actually getting an aircraft landing right now where we think someone is trapped in the baggage compartment,” he responds.

The baggage handler was released from a hospital soon after the incident. He also passed a drug test that certified that he was not intoxicated at the time of the incident.

[Image Via Wikimedia Commons]