Two Frenchmen Fly in Cargo Hold to Vienna

Two French employees of logistics company FedEx, aged 36 and 38, got trapped in an airplane´s cargo hold while loading it in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

Due to heavy rain in Paris, the pilot of the FedEx air freighter closed the tailboard without noticing the two men inside. They tried to call for help but nobody could hear them due to the engine´s noises and so the plane took off for a two-hour journey to Austrian capital Vienna.

Both workers were lucky to be alive. The freighter plane type ATR 72 has automatic pressure equalisation and flies at a lower altitude than other similar airplanes, so the temperature in the cargo hold did not decrease that drastically, making it possible for the Frenchmen to survive.

When the Viennese cargo crew discovered the ´blind passengers´ when unloading the plane - instead of helping the freezing Frenchmen right away, they immediately closed the tailboard again and called police as service regulations demand.

The mystery was solved rather quickly though, as both men had their uniforms on and were carrying security badges from Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

Police decided to send them back home without any further paperwork. Naturally, Air France flew them back home for free in the first-class section.

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