http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/03/30/2009-03-30_trapped_jetblue_luggage_handler_flies_20.html Trapped JetBlue luggage handler flies 200 miles in cargo hold BY Bill Hutchinson DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, March 30th 2009, 10:35 PM He's part of the ground crew, but a JetBlue luggage handler went airborne - trapped in the belly of a New York-to-Boston flight. Sidney Nurse flew 200 miles in the cargo bin after mysteriously getting stuck while loading bags at JFK Airport, officials said. The 21-year-old worker stunned his tarmac counterparts at Boston's Logan Airport Saturday when they opened the cargo door of the twin-engine ERJ-190 jet and unloaded him along with the luggage. "Even after talking to him we were a little uncertain as to how it happened," Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said Monday. Cops initially suspected Nurse of being a stowaway, but Procopio said he was just an accidental tourist. Local NBC News reported that Nurse dozed off while loading bags, and didn't wake up until Flight B6-1004 was taxiing for takeoff. Nurse told cops he panicked when he realized the plane was in the air and used his cell phone to call JetBlue officials during the 37-minute flight. A medical team examined Nurse at Logan and determined he was not injured during the trip, in which the plane traveled at an altitude of about 17,000 feet. JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin had no comment except to say the airline was investigating the incident. Baldwin said the cargo bins on JetBlue planes are pressurized, which allowed Nurse to survive. Nurse returned to New York on a JetBlue flight; this time flying with the passengers instead of the bags. While Nurse's unconventional flight is startling, it was not the first time a New York airport ground-crew worker has survived a flight in an airliner's cargo compartment. In June 2005, a La Guardia Airport baggage handler took a nap in the empty cargo bin of a Spirit Airlines MD-80 and woke up 90 minutes later in Detroit. whutchinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".