Washington – United Airlines says it is investigating after a vendor employee was found unharmed in an aircraft’s cargo hold following a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington Dulles International Airport.
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The airline said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that United Express flight 6060 operated by Mesa Airlines landed safely at Dulles on Sunday.
The statement says once at the gate, an employee of the airline’s ground handling vendor was found in the cargo area. The employee wasn’t identified.
The man wore a Charlotte baggage handler’s uniform and had identification from baggage handling, but he said he left his airport ID in his locker at Charlotte Airport. Police are investigating whether the man really was a baggage handler and not a stowaway.
It’s unclear how the man became locked in the baggage compartment or how his presence there was discovered.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority directed questions to United.