Passenger Forgets Laptop in the Lavatory, Winds Up in Oklahoma City

Last year flight attendant in my Facebook feed shared a story about a man taking such a long time in the lavatory that another passenger expressed concern and eventually the crew started to suspect a medical emergency. After much knocking he came out, iPad in hand. He went in there to watch a movie. No, they didn’t confirm what kind of movie.

But what happens when the passenger comes out of the lavatory, but leaves their device inside?

Saturday night Frontier Airlines flight 481 from New Orleans to Denver wound up diverting to Oklahoma City because a flight attendant found a computer in an unoccupied lavatory.


Copyright: zhukovsky / 123RF Stock Photo

The pilot decided to divert. Passengers were removed from the plane. The bomb squad came on and determined it was a laptop and not a bomb laptop.

FBI agents managed to track down the passenger who owned the laptop. They “found that she was drunk, so she and her daughter stayed behind” while the rest of the passengers finally were on their way to Denver at 2:19 a.m.

(HT: Ryan Boyd)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. Are the seats so uncomfortable this dude preferred the lavatory ? I suspect his viewing choice made the privacy of the lavatory more appropriate/convenient than his allocated seat. Major douchebag.

  2. Why would they divert? If someone actually brought a “bomb laptop” on the plane intending to use it, why would they leave it in the lavatory to detonate?

  3. Surely TSA checks at the departure airport would have determined if the laptop contained explosives? Or do you think pilots also are aware that TSA has a 95% chance of NOT finding such things?

  4. @Mark W

    Even the TSA is aware that they have a terrible record of finding … well, anything. That’s why airline lounges can’t have lockers for luggage – the TSA won’t let them. And it’s also why there are the constant announcements about not leaving your luggage unattended.

  5. Of course, the drunk woman is coming from New Orleans on Mardi Gras weekend. Of course. That’s a special kind of drunk.

  6. Just curious, why did they not ask the passengers if anyone had forgot their laptop in the lav.
    The delay and a trip by FBI would have been saved!

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