A man was left on board his flight from Lafayette, La., to Houston after taking a nap before his next segment Houston ABC television affiliate KTRK reported Monday.
Tom Wagner was traveling to California to spend time with family, and chose to snooze prior to the next flight when no one noticed he was still on the United Express flight.
Wagner attempted to exit the aircraft through the door after he had awakened alone, but found it locked. He therefore dialed his girlfriend who notified the airline. Airline officials then rescued Wagner in half an hour.
""I was coming from Louisiana to see my sister in California Wagner told KTRK-TV. "We had a layover in Texas. I just took my hat off and I took a nap. I woke up and the lights were out. I was like, what's going on? I thought maybe it was a layover, still on the same plane. I called my girlfriend, and she thought I was crazy. I said Debbie I'm locked on the plane. I said, I'm telling you the truth; you better go somewhere and get me off this plane."
The airline appeared to go about their business, and not make a big deal about it.
"I said don't put the blame on me. I didn't do anything wrong here. They were, like, try to hush-hush, keep it quiet," Wagner told KTRK. "And they gave me this little package here in a motel room. They didn't sweep the plane," Wagner said. "I mean, who shut the door?"
The airline later issued a statement about the mishap.
"An ExpressJet passenger remained on board flight 4245, operating as United Express from Lafayette, La. to Houston on Friday, Dec. 6, after all passengers had deplaned. ExpressJet is investigating to determine how this occurred. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused for the passenger."
