Man accidentally locked in aircraft hold
Man accidentally locked in aircraft hold
Thu, Apr 19, 2007
A man in charge of loading baggage on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to New York accidentally became locked in the hold of the aircraft but was rescued after he phoned for help, a report revealed today.
The report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport describes the event as a "serious incident" and recommends that the airline produce procedures for closing up aircraft.
According to the report, the 55-year-old man was locked into the hold of an Airbus A330, operating as flight EI105 on December 28th 2005. There were 325 passengers and 12 crew on board.
The man, a team leader, was checking loading cards used to identify the location of passengers' bags when he realised there was a bag on the flight that should have been on a flight to Los Angeles.
He had noticed it after a question arose over whether another passenger on the flight, who had six bags already loaded on the aircraft, would be allowed to travel.
The man accidentally became locked into the hold but as the lights remained on, he wasn't aware that the aircraft had started its 'pushback' from the stand. It was only when the engines powered up he realised that he was locked in, the report states.
He knew the hold door could be opened from the inside but he did not try to open it. Instead, he telephoned his supervisors to tell them of his "predicament".
Air traffic control then contacted the flight crew to advise them of the situation and the aircraft returned to the stand to let the man out.
Investigators found that the situation of a person being shut into a cargo hold
was not covered in the training course. Following the incident, Aer Lingus's air safety office recommended that a training item be included to draw attention to the relevant issues.
AAIU investigator John Hughes said in his report it was "fortunate" that the man had a mobile phone on his person when he became locked into the aircraft hold. He blamed a "breakdown in communication" for the incident.
"This was a serious incident. Cases have occurred where loaders have been inadvertently locked in a hold. Some years ago, a loader was locked in a hold on a two-hour flight from Philadelphia to Chicago. This was a traumatic event for this person," the report says.
It also notes that a set of circumstances and "disruptions" combined to "militate against a timely and efficient dispatch" of the aircraft in this case.
Mr Hughes agreed with the recommendations of Aer Lingus's own safety office. He recommended that the airline produce procedures for the close-up of aircraft and for the late removal of items from the cargo holds.
He also recommended that a communications system be provided to enable the loading shift leader immediately alert colleagues if an emergency should arise.
A spokeswoman for the airline said steps had been taken to prevent a similar incident.
"The Aer Lingus air safety office carried out an internal investigation of the incident and the recommendations set out by the AAIU have been implemented and procedures are in place to ensure that incidents of that nature do not occur in the future," she said.
