Air Canada is now reviewing an incident in which a woman had to find a way out of a locked airplane after she was left inside. The airplane landed in Toronto when the passenger was asleep and when she woke up, the airplane was dark and empty.
Tiffani Adams explained what happened through a post on the airline’s Facebook page. She says she fell asleep during her flight from Quebec City on June 9. From that point on, she remembers waking up inside the plane with the seat belt still on. It was around midnight, close to two hours after the plane had landed.
The passenger had no one to talk to in the plane and began looking for a way out. The plane was dark and there weren’t much tools she could use to grab the attention of employees or contact them. Adams says she tried to contact family and friends but her phone was out of battery at that point.
She searched inside the plane and found a flashlight in the cockpit. She then began using the flashlight as a way to send signals to the employees outside. Before she was noticed, she opened the door of the airplane but there was no way to get out since it was a big drop from the plane to the ground.
She explained in her post that she tried to find a rope to get down and even thought about using a seatbelt as a rope but it was too short. She ended up hanging out the door and reflecting the flashlight off the plane to catch someone’s attention.
The attempt of catching someone’s attention worked as a luggage cart driver noticed her. The driver brought a ladder to help her get down from the airplane. After the incident, she met with a representative of the airlines and she was offered a ride and a stay at a hotel.
Adams says she is now experiencing anxiety and insomnia following the incident. She says she hasn’t gotten much sleep and that she is waking up anxious and afraid that she is going to be locked in a dark place.
Adams says she was contacted by the airline on Monday and Tuesday and they both asked about the incident and said that they would conduct an investigation since the airline has a safety check to make sure that no one is left inside an airplane.
The airline recently confirmed to the Associated Press that the incident did happen. A spokesperson of the airline did not comment on the procedures after the plane lands or how the passenger may have been missed. The spokesperson did tell CityNews that they have followed up with Adams.
The incident took place two weeks ago but the airline is still reviewing what happened. Air Canada, which is the largest airline of Canada by passengers and fleet size, flies to many countries around the world. A pilot told Global News on Monday that being left on a plane had a one in a million chance of happening.
Alan Eugeni said through a phone interview that an incident like this is not very likely to take place. He went on to mention that this may have been a mistake or something from a slightly careless employee who didn’t do the final check.
