[GTO]

One of those incidents that make you . Thanks to R 007 for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Canadian woman's worst nightmare came true when she found herself all alone in a pitch dark plane parked at the airport after she slept through the landing at the Toronto airport.

Tiffani Adams, took an Air Canada flight earlier this month from Quebec to Toronto Pearson International Airport after having a great holiday in Quebec. She fell asleep after the takeoff, but to her surprise, she woke up in a pitch dark parked plane. She was forgotten by the ground staff as well.

As Tiffani boarded the flight, she found an entire row to herself, she made herself comfy for her 1.5 hour long flight and midway during the flight while she was reading her book, she slept. She later woke up to find herself all alone in a pitch-dark plane.

Source & full article

[Samurai]

when my seat an inch back or my tray down flight crew take notice but yet you missed a person still strapped into her seat and just all go on home?

It all makes sense. Her tray table was up and seat was in upright position and seat belt on, so there was nothing to notice for the highly trained staff.

Weird Al Yankovic explained similar logic in his Albuquerque song.

And the plane exploded in a giant fireball and everybody died
Except for me, You know why?

'Cause I had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position
Had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position
Had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position...

Source

[KL01toKA03]

Very surprised by this news. Don't they clean the aircraft immediately after all the passengers have disembarked? Was the passenger dressed in the same colors as the seats? I hope the airline and TSB conduct a good enquiry and fix any possible security lapses.

[jailbird_fynix]

Sounds really cool. I would've called it a night and let them wake me up the next morning. It would make for a good story to tell the folks back home. Bragging rights as well, provided I took some selfies as proof. But, I guess, someone with an anxiety disorder like Tiffani would find it scary. Although one cannot deny that this could be a cash grab plot as well.

Originally Posted by Samurai

'Cause I had my tray table up
And my seat back in the full upright position

[alpha1]

Looks like Canada does not have any security threats like terrorism or internal unrest.
I understand that can be a cause for staff not paying attention or not having procedures that would've detected her presence.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Looks like Canada does not have any security threats like terrorism or internal unrest.
I understand that can be a cause for staff not paying attention or not having procedures that would've detected her presence.

True. You can find the Parliament building with a open huge lawn in front and people walking up to the building. Just some distance away, the US embassy is fortified with roadblocks etc

[am1m]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Looks like Canada does not have any security threats like terrorism or internal unrest.
I understand that can be a cause for staff not paying attention or not having procedures that would've detected her presence.

I guess they don't have US-levels of paranoia about security but they do have their own security issues, recently, just this month there was a mass shooting in Toronto, so I'm sure they have their own security checks and procedures. This must have been an oversight.

I've always wondered about the stark differences in security requirements between air and train travel, especially in India. Is it because a plane can potentially be used to cause more damage that there is so much, much more security around flying as opposed to boarding a train?

[digitalnirvana]

Oh boy this is one of my nightmare scenarios. Partly to do with Stephen King's book. Still gives me the heebie jeebies.

[ankan.m.blr]

What if the passenger knew how to fly a commercial airplane? Could she have flown the plane away from the airport on her own?

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

What if the passenger knew how to fly a commercial airplane? Could she have flown the plane away from the airport on her own?

My knowledge in aviation is next to naught, but I believe this is an impossible scenario in real life.
Not only are there N number of checklists, one would need inspection, fuel, ATC clearance before anything else.

[Moto_Hill]

Reminded me of somewhat similar security lapse at Mumbai airport involving Indigo in June, 2017.

A passenger nodded off on an airport shuttle bus and missed his flight but nobody noticed the sleeping man for at least six hours. The passenger was to board an IndiGo flight (6E 799) to Bengaluru from Mumbai airport’s domestic terminal 1 and boarded the shuttle with other passengers. This passenger sat at the back seat and probably fell asleep. At the ladder point, all passengers deboarded except him. Without checking the bus, the driver took the vehicle to the maintenance area and parked it there.

On the ladder, the airline crew, too, didn’t realise that a passenger was missing though they have to tally their manifest and travellers’ boarding cards.

Complete details

[V.Narayan]

If this had happened in the US and the passenger in question was a black man how do you think this would have ended.