Passengers Were Right--Someone Was Trapped in Hold

A baggage handler became trapped in the luggage compartment of a Delta Air Lines jet as it was preparing for takeoff from Atlanta, but the man was freed after passengers heard him banging and yelling, it was reported today.

Flight 1076 from Atlanta to Raleigh, N.C., was parked at a gate preparing for takeoff about 8:30 p.m. Sunday when passengers heard the trapped man banging, passenger Paula Spivey told the Alabama Journal.

“I heard all this banging up underneath my chair,” she said. “Then we heard a man’s voice yelling, ‘Help! Help!’ ”

It was five minutes before flight personnel heeded reports from passengers and discovered the man had been locked in a baggage compartment, she said.

A flight attendant at first told concerned passengers, “Well, they’re just under there looking for a piece of luggage,” Spivey said.