On December 18th, Air Canada flight 1502 from Toronto to Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada closed its cargo doors while a ground crew member was still inside. The plane had already begun taxiing out when passengers reported yelling, banging, and screaming from below the cabin. The plane had to go back to the gate to free him. A passenger onboard reportedly called 911 during the confusion.
Video of the incident didn’t surface widely for a few weeks. However, more than one passenger recorded a pilot explaining why they had to go back, to get “that person out.” And now this week the airline says it’s “investigating” the incident and says it’s reinforced ground procedures.
A first hand passenger report describes a long sequence of delays, pilots timing out and getting new crew, additional mechanical issues, and an eventual cancellation around after one in the morning. The trapped worker briefly appeared to passengers after being freed “to wave quickly.”
Air Canada Rouge passengers alert crew after a baggage handler gets stuck in the cargo hold at Toronto Pearson Airport, local media reports.
The incident happened on December 13, 2025, involving Air Canada Rouge flight AC1502, which was scheduled to operate from Toronto to… pic.twitter.com/ATxx5ZTawb
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) January 10, 2026
Here’s another passenger video, in French this time, but this is the English (similar to the first video),
So what happened—the situation—is that after starting the engine(s), we realized there was still a person on board, in the baggage compartment. So, well… it’s the first time this has ever happened to me in my life. We hope it’ll be the last. But it meant we had to return to the gate to get the person out. The good news is the person is healthy; everything is fine. They got out of the aircraft. It’s just that we have a few phone calls to make about what happened, and then we’ll be on our way in the next steps / shortly. So once again, we’re sorry for the delay tonight, and we’ll do our best to get underway.
About a year ago, American Airlines turned back after an SOS banging from the cargo hold. Meanwhile, a drunk American Airlines baggage handler fell asleep in the cargo hold and wound up flying to Chicago. Over at United, a baggage handler got trapped in cargo and wound up flying to Washington Dulles from Charlotte.
OMG. However, I am surprised that this does not happen more often.
I remember once I fell asleep on a MTA train from Connecticut. I woke up in Grand Central in the dark. The train was empty. The doors were locked in my car. So I walked towards the terminal into other cars and eventually (luckily) found an unlocked door.
In fact, I have heard many stories of people over sleeping their stops on the MTA. Sometimes all the way to the trainyards.
@Other Just Saying — Ahh, MetroNorth… slightly more comfortable, cleaner than the Subway…