Investopedia reports:
A week after United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) settled a lawsuit over baggage handler workplace injuries, a United worker was locked in an airplane's cargo hold.
The Washington Post reports that the worker spent over an hour locked in an airplane traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of Jan. 1. The flight was operated by Mesa Airlines, an airline operating regional feeder flights for United and American Airlines Group Inc.
[...] The worker was unharmed in the incident and told The Washington Post that he was advised by his lawyer not to discuss the incident.
Less than a week earlier, on Dec. 27, United Airlines announced it settled a lawsuit brought by its baggage handlers. The workers alleged more than 600 musculoskeletal workplace injuries between 2011 and 2015.
Related Stories
NPR reports
Passengers on a United Express flight from Chicago to Louisville, Ky., were horrified when a man was forcibly removed--violently wrenched from his seat and physically dragged down the aisle. [...] Videos of the scene have prompted calls to boycott United Airlines.
[...] The Chicago Department of Aviation [...] says the actions of the security officers were "not condoned by the Department" and that one individual has been placed on leave pending a review.
[...] Passengers had already boarded on Sunday evening [April 10] at O'Hare International Airport when United asked for volunteers to take another flight the next day to make room for four United staff members who needed seats.
The airline offered $400 and a free hotel, passenger Audra D. Bridges told the Louisville Courier-Journal. When no one volunteered, the offer was doubled to $800. When there were still no bites, the airline selected four passengers to leave the flight--including the man in the video and his wife.
"They told him he had been selected randomly to be taken off the flight", Bridges said.
[...] The man said he was a doctor and that he "needed to work at the hospital the next day", passenger Jayse D. Anspach said.
[...] Both Bridges and Anspach posted videos of three security officers, who appear to be wearing the uniforms of Chicago aviation police, wrenching the man out of his seat, prompting wails. His face appeared to strike an armrest. Then they dragged his limp body down the aisle.
Footage shows the man was bleeding from the mouth as they dragged him away. His glasses were askew and his shirt was riding up over his belly.
"It looked like he was knocked out, because he went limp and quiet and they dragged him out of the plane like a rag doll", Anspach wrote.
Previous: Days After United Settlement, Baggage Handler Locked in Cargo Hold on NC-to-DC Flight
(Score: 3, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday January 07 2017, @11:42PM
Days After United Settlement, Baggage Handler Locked in Cargo Hold on NC-to-DC Flight
Less than a week earlier, on Dec. 27, United Airlines announced it settled a lawsuit brought by its baggage handlers. The workers alleged more than 600 musculoskeletal workplace injuries between 2011 and 2015.
Musculoskeletal injuries? So nothing to do with lax cargo hold procedures, or anything like that?
I'm really not sure what someone wants to infer from this.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by chromas on Saturday January 07 2017, @11:53PM
Punishment for snitching. This was just a warning. Next time, they'll drop him off in the middle of the sky with balloon boots.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Sunday January 08 2017, @12:09AM
Sleepin' with the albatrosses.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 07 2017, @11:56PM
Musculoskeletal injuries. It just means that after a hard day's work, they have to go home and rub some Ben Gay on tired, sore muscles. Err - wait - can we say that anymore? Is Ben Gay politically correct? Maybe it's Benji Queer now? Fek, I can't keep up with the changing times.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @12:08AM
I religiously object to using Ben Gay.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Sunday January 08 2017, @08:23AM
Rainbow Benji!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @03:04AM
You expected something sane?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @06:33AM
This item made the front page because there wasn't anything more interesting in the queue.
There wasn't anything more interesting in the queue because folks spent all their time whining rather that submitting better, more interesting stuff.
...and I'm sure that your fellow laborers are all thankful for your wonderful show of solidarity and are hoping that you don't see a similar lack of concern for your wellbeing at your workplace.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @12:08AM
Get yourself locked in the belly of a plane, take a nap, sue for big money. Nice try.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @05:42AM
Whether he did it on purpose or not, the company handling that fucked up big time. There's just no excuse for not knowing where people are in operations like this. This kind of thing is why they invented things like lockouts and the buddy system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @06:09AM
That's my thought as well.
The cabin crew does a count of passengers and compares it to the list before they pull away from the gate.
It seems logical that someone would do a head count of the ground crew before moving on to the next task.
Airlines were among the first of industries to standardize procedures and use checklists.
This episode looks quite sloppy.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by tftp on Sunday January 08 2017, @07:08AM
Intentional or not, this case revealed a huge hole in the procedures. The last person leaving the compartment and locking the door is supposed to check everything and make sure that there are no loose items (or forgotten workers.) Probably in this case that was not done. Here is what a mechanic says about that on FlightAware [flightaware.com]:
sparkie624
I remember a long time ago on a 737, I was working in the Aft Compartment just in front of the APU finalizing some work. I had a tall ladder and the door was open. Next thing I knew the a/c started pushing back form the gate. I had the log book locked up in the vehicle.. First thing I did was start pulling cannon plugs... especially when I heard the #2 engine starting to spool... I disconnect the stabs, and any other cannon plug that I could find (at least a dozen of them). Upon being pulled back into the gate another mechanic climbed up and opened the door and I flew out! he hollared at me and said (Before you go and kill someone, what did you do"... I yelled back! "Canon Plugs"... Never did find that moron, and I think he knew better than to show his face that day!... I talked with the Captain and asked to see his log book... He could not find it.... I advised him that it was locked in my truck! He had nothing else to say!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday January 08 2017, @05:21PM
Intentional or not, this case revealed a huge hole in the procedures.
And/or it reveals that procedures weren't followed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 11 2017, @08:25AM
Same goes for fixing a forklift especially if Klaus is around... (google for Forklift Driver Klaus if you like gory training videos ;) ).
(Score: 2) by purple_cobra on Sunday January 08 2017, @11:46AM
What they need is one of those supermarket self-service checkout systems to say "unexpected item in packing area".
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday January 08 2017, @02:07AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo [youtube.com]
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by hopp on Sunday January 08 2017, @04:11AM
I'm waiting for baggage handler robots. Sue the weather is more unpredictable bit it can't be much more difficult than Amazon warehouses.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @06:23AM
With the big planes, there is considerable mechanization of cargo handling.
The hand labor is largely done away from the aircraft. [google.com]
With the feeder airlines and their smaller planes, it's more piece-by-piece right at the aircraft.
Maybe some day soon some smart guy will develop a gadget that can deal with all the stuff of various sizes and shapes like a self-playing Tetris game.
Now, how much will that cost and will the shoestring-budget outfits find it cheaper than humans?
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Sunday January 08 2017, @08:25AM
This all sounds so silly that I had to do a bit of Google research...
On the lawsuit: "...baggage handlers at Newark Liberty International Airport often were forced to lift heavy bags or perform other functions while leaning over, twisting or reaching overhead." [go.com] It's hard to tell from the online info, but reading between the lines I expect that some minor issues with the baggage handling setup were exaggerated beyond all reason to enable this lawsuit. For example, UAL also had to pay a fine of $7000 - that's such a laughable amount that there cannot have been any real workplace-safety issues.
On the baggage-handler taking an unexpected flight: Planes are loaded under time pressure, so this happens: Someone is arranging baggage in the hold; someone else thinks the hold is clear and closes the door. This is where pets travel, so it is not a hostile environment. Cargo holds are pressurized, lit, and heated to at least 40F (4C) [quora.com]. Given that you're in with people's luggage, if you get cold, you can certainly find something to wear. So getting locked in for a one-hour flight may be irritating, but it's hardly a hardship.
tl;dr: Clickbait
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @08:58AM
I have known many techies who were physically soft.
One wonders how long -you- could do that job before your body quit on you.
$7000 - that's such a laughable amount
They got a judgment in their favor.
Perhaps the precedent was what they were really after.
It seems likely that a contract was renegotiated or will be the next time around using that precedent.
someone else thinks the hold is clear and closes the door
It occurs to me that standard practice would be for the person doing that to say in a loud voice "CLOSING THE HATCH" and waiting a moment before doing it.
If they aren't already doing that, this should be added to the procedures manual.
getting locked in for a one-hour flight [is] hardly a hardship
A writeup I saw said an hour and a half (one way).
...and your vision is quite narrow.
If it's your wife's birthday or your wedding anniversary or your kid is the featured soloist in the band's presentation that night, being hundreds of miles away could be considered a hardship.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Sunday January 08 2017, @09:25AM
So what is your point?
The question isn't whether handling baggage is hard physical work. Of course it is. The question is: was the baggage area at this airport set up in a way that endangered the people performing that work? The main result of the lawsuit will be the installation of baggage conveyor belts in a place where they have never existed, in any airport, namely, in the jetways. This is indeed a new precedent, and as such indicates that there was no violation of existing workplace standards.
Getting locked in the cargo hold: Of course they have procedures for clearing the hold. Working under time pressure, something obviously went wrong. Again, what's your point?
As for the involuntary trip: The article is attempting to make this sound dramatic. If you read TFA, it makes a point of saying the baggage handler was "unharmed". Other articles emphasize the altitude of the flight, and express doubt about the hold being pressurized. They are doing their damnedest to make this sound dramatic and life-threatening, when it was simply inconvenient. The guy lost half-a-day of time; odds are 50/50 that he was back before his shift would have ended anyway. He has already retained a lawyer to extract a settlement from the airline, because that's what you do in the US.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @03:03PM
Yeah, what a jackass. Next think you know he thinks he just deserves his hourly rate for free while he was just sitting on his ass in the cargo hold. What a libtard shit. No wonder he's a baggage handler. He's an idiot. If he weren't a moron, he'd be doing something better for a living. But nope, had to get that women's history degree. NO SYMPATHY HERE!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @03:32PM
>This is where pets travel, so it is not a hostile environment.
Many of the things we regularly do to our pets would certainly land is in prison if done to a human. You know not all animal-lovers (pet owners) actually love animals.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by choose another one on Sunday January 08 2017, @02:07PM
I've seen internet rumours elsewhere that when the baggage handler was released from the hold he had no ID, and was held as a suspected stowaway for a while.
That suggests more to this than a simple procedure error. At the very least two errors lining up (airside without ID and getting locked in hold), but possibly something more, maybe lax security wrt. airside ID, maybe he got airside _without_ ID (shouldn't happen), or maybe someone took his ID and locked him in the hold where he would be unable to report it missing for a few hours. None of these are good.