Caught on Tape: Package Abuse

Three baggage handlers were suspended by Northwest Airlines after they were shown on television treating holiday packages like basketballs. “We were embarrassed and disturbed by their actions,” said Northwest Vice President Dirk McMahon. News footage shot by KSTP showed the three taking packages off a plane at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, tossing them over their heads, behind their backs, high into the air and into a bin. The videotape also showed one of the packages crashing to the ground. One handler picked up a box coming off the plane and lobbed it to a co-worker, who threw it high and backward into the bin. One worker took a mailbag and attempted a reverse two-handed overhead shot that missed.