While cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages are definitely the way to go, sometimes unexpected things happen on a flight that later lead to funny stories being shared. Recently a Delta pilot was stuck in a lavatory on a flight from Asheville, North Carolina to New York.
The pilot became trapped in the bathroom because of a broken door latch. The only flight attendant on the plane was unable to help because she had entered the cockpit when the pilot left because security protocols require two people in the cockpit at all times.
A passenger seated close to the bathroom heard the pilot and tried to help. Since the passenger was not able to open the bathroom door from the outside, the captain asked him to notify the cockpit of his situation.
Unfortunately the first officer became spooked because the passenger had a heavy accent and the captain was missing. The first officer contacted air control and explained what he knew of the situation. He was encouraged to declare an emergency and land as quickly as possible.
Before an emergency was declared, the captain returned to the cockpit. The controller on the ground wanted to know if there had been any disturbance in the airplane.
The captain replied negative and said that the door latch in the lavatory broke and he had to fight his way out of it with his body to get the door open.
The first office behaved correctly in securing the flight deck when he was unable to personally confirm the status of the captain. No one was ever in danger. The plane, carrying 14 passengers and three crew members, ended up making an emergency landing at LaGuardia with the captain at the controls.
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