Terrorist locked himself in Empty Dark Plane Cabin at Houston Airport

[aGameOfThrones]

Airline investigators are looking into how a man got left behind and locked onboard a United Airlines jet when everyone else left during a layover in Houston from Louisiana.

Tom Wagner says he fell asleep on the plane and woke up in the pitch black cabin that had landed at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport, the nation's fifth largest airport.

"I woke up and the lights were out. I was like, what's going on?" Wagner told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston. "I thought maybe it was a layover, still on the same plane."

Wagner says somehow everyone had deplaned and not noticed he was still snoozing in his seat. He said cabin crew locked the doors leaving him trapped inside.

"I called my girlfriend, and she thought I was crazy. I said, 'Debbie I'm locked on the plane.' I said, 'I'm telling you the truth; you better go somewhere and get me off this plane.'"

Wagner's girlfriend then called the airline, which sent crew to the plane after more than half an hour. Wagner says he told workers who came on board, "'Don't put the blame on me. I didn't do anything wrong here.' And then they were, like, try to hush-hush, keep it quiet."

The airline gave Wagner a free Amenities package, which included items like a toothbrush and toothpaste, and put him up in a motel room for the night.

ExpressJet issued a statement on Saturday afternoon: "An ExpressJet passenger remained on board flight 4245, operating as United Express from Lafayette, La. to Houston on Friday, Dec. 6, after all passengers had deplaned. ExpressJet is investigating to determine how this occurred. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused for the passenger."

The airline said it had no idea how cabin crew missed Wagner, even after a routine post-flight walk-through.

Wagner said United did not refund his flight, but gave him a $250 voucher to help him reach his final destination in California.

"What if I had a medical condition or something? What if I had a heart attack and I was dead? You just shut the plane and leave someone on there? It's the way I look at it," Wagner said.

http://gma.yahoo.com/man-trapped-empty-dark-plane-cabin-houston-airport-092134282--abc-news-topstories.html

[specsaregood]

"What if I had a medical condition or something? What if I had a heart attack and I was dead? You just shut the plane and leave someone on there? It's the way I look at it," Wagner said.

Oh shut the hell up you whiner. You are still alive and unhurt aren't you? stop your bitching and move on.

[Anti Federalist]

LOL @ United.

[pcosmar]

LoL @ security

[Danke]

LOL @ United.

ExpressJet. Not United.

[belian78]

Oh shut the hell up you whiner. You are still alive and unhurt aren't you? stop your bitching and move on.

It's a valid complaint. He luckily was ok, but if they don't pay enough attention to their passengers to notice one passed out on the plane, that's a problem.

[specsaregood]

It's a valid complaint. He luckily was ok, but if they don't pay enough attention to their passengers to notice one passed out on the plane, that's a problem.

Shit happens. He comes across as whiny little bitch. If it happened to me, I'd be looking at it as having a funny story to tell people.

[Danke]

Shit happens. He comes across as whiny little bitch. If it happened to me, I'd be looking at it as having a funny story to tell people.

I'd be looking for the door handle.

[FindLiberty]

He was lucky that plane was not on schedule for its routine nightly Methyl Bromide Tent Fumigation*.

Yea, watch for the TV version of this story...


(* I'm kidding. They don't routinely do that to airplanes, maybe fake treatment of a house with some kid hiding under the bed for a TV suspense movie) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumigation

[Pericles]

I'd be looking for the door handle.

I feel certain that there is one.

[eduardo89]

I feel certain that there is one.

If there's anything that Danke knows about it's women...second is planes. So I'm sure there is one if he says there is.

[specsaregood]

I'd be looking for the door handle.

Did this guy miss his one opportunity to use the inflatable slide thingy?

[Danke]

Did this guy miss his one opportunity to use the inflatable slide thingy?

Just walk down the stairs if the jet bridge is not connected. But then the TSA would probably jack him up if he was wondering around the ramp, lol.

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac154/FlyingFinn_photo/Porto_01_2010/Porto_Departure_1.jpg

[mad cow]

I'd be looking for the door handle.


I'd be looking for those lil bottles of booze.

[Danke]

I'd be looking for those lil bottles of booze.

Of course, first things first.

[donnay]

LOL @ United.

Now I know why you don't like to sleep on the plane. :D

[eduardo89]

Now I know why you don't like to sleep on the plane. :D

I puked on an aeroplane yesterday. I was so hungover.

[specsaregood]

I'd be looking for those lil bottles of booze.

On that note, what kind of person sleeps through a plane landing, disembarking and exiting of the staff? The kind of person that had too much pre and in-flight cocktails. Or somebody that mixed those cocktails with some other pharmaceuticals. And what did the staff really do? They gave him a nice, quiet and safe place to sleep it off. The flight crew didn't screw up; no! they are heros! They probably saved lives or at least saved him a DUI.

[eduardo89]

On that note, what kind of person sleeps through a plane landing, disembarking and exiting of the staff?

Never had that happen to me on a plane, but I've slept through the last stop on the subway once and ended up at the maintenance depot with the train completely dark.

[donnay]

I puked on an aeroplane yesterday. I was so hungover.

Oh lovely. And here I though having hyperactive kids kicking my seat the whole flight was bad.

[eduardo89]

Oh lovely. And here I though having hyperactive kids kicking my seat the whole flight was bad.

I was in the first row and had no one sitting beside me, but still was very discreet about it. I'm surprised, though, airlines rarely have sick bags in the seat pocket nowadays. I was lucky to have one.

I wonder if Danke has any tips for flying drunk/hungover.

[specsaregood]

Never had that happen to me on a plane, but I've slept through the last stop on the subway once and ended up at the maintenance depot with the train completely dark.

Me and wifey once missed 2 flights in a row because were having too much fun and too many margaritas at the airport bar. We still didn't pass out enough to miss getting off the plane on the 3rd flight. effing lightweights get all the publicity.

[eduardo89]

Me and wifey once missed 2 flights in a row because were having too much fun and too many margaritas at the airport bar. We still didn't pass out enough to miss getting off the plane on the 3rd flight. effing lightweights get all the publicity.

I've never actually gotten drunk at an airport bar. My friend and I did get told to quit drinking at an airport lounge in Doha because we were talking a flight to Sharjah and would have been arrested on landing if we were drunk. Never missed a flight because I was drunk, though, although I would have loved for some flights to have been 8-10 hours longer so I could sleep the booze off before arriving at work.

[donnay]

I was in the first row and had no one sitting beside me, but still was very discreet about it. I'm surprised, though, airlines rarely have sick bags in the seat pocket nowadays. I was lucky to have one.

I wonder if Danke has any tips for flying drunk/hungover.


You should have drank some ginger ale before you got on the plane. Real sugar and ginger are winning combinations for upset stomachs and hangovers. A Banana would have been helpful too.

[Danke]

I was in the first row and had no one sitting beside me, but still was very discreet about it. I'm surprised, though, airlines rarely have sick bags in the seat pocket nowadays. I was lucky to have one.

I wonder if Danke has any tips for flying drunk/hungover.

Yes, don't do any aerobatics.

[2young2vote]

Airports are just chaos. I flew from Florida to Chicago earlier this year and got stuck in Chicago with three cancelled flights (one of which we didn't know was cancelled until 1.5 hours after it was supposed to have landed). Got a free hotel voucher for the night and $40 in free airport money that could be spent anywhere in the airport for food. I finally found a flight and was put on the wait list in case someone didn't show up. Got the last open spot. All three cancelled flights were the same model of plane as the one from my Green Bay to chicago flight, which was scary because when I flew from Green Bay to Chicago we coasted down the run way, stopped for 15 minutes, and turned back around because there was a problem with the break light not going off. Then, half way back to the terminal we stop for another 15 minutes until the captain comes on the speaker and tells us that the light magically turned off by itself...

I believe the planes were Embraer. One of their smaller ones.

It doesn't surprise me that something like that would happen to that guy, based on my experiences.