CHICAGO _ The jetliner was in the air, bound for O'Hare International Airport, when the baggage handler woke up in the cargo hold. It was dark, so he lit a Bic lighter.
He found his way to a door and sat there until the plane landed in Chicago. Luckily, the hold was heated and pressurized for pets and he was still alive when American Airlines Flight 363 touched down early last Saturday morning, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
As crews approached to unload the Boeing 737, the 20-year-old baggage handler "emerged from the underside of the aircraft and informed (them) that he had fallen asleep on the aircraft in Kansas City," the report states.
The handler explained that after a night out of drinking and smoking pot, he had gone to bed around 10 p.m. and reported to his job at Kansas City International Airport at 4 a.m. the next day. After loading some bags, he walked into the cargo hold of the American Airlines plane and fell asleep, according to the police report.
Questioned by authorities in Chicago, the worker "replied that ... this was a stupid mistake."
No charges were filed, and he was sent back to Kansas City on a later flight Saturday. The Tribune is not naming him because he was not charged.
"He admitted he was confused and he accidentally fell asleep,'' explained Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Chicago police.
