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Sleeping Woman Sues United for Leaving Her Behind on Plane
By
John Del Signore
Published May 28, 2010
Modified May 28, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 28, 2010
Modified May 28, 2010
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Like many airplane passengers, Ginger McGuire fell asleep during her one hour flight from Michigan to Philadelphia on Tuesday night. But when the plane landed at 12:30 a.m., she didn't wake up, and kept on sawing wood as the other passengers left the plane and the flight crew walked away, locking the doors behind them! When the heavy sleeper finally awoke around 4 a.m., she was all alone. But instead of saying to herself, "Hey, free plane!" McGuire paced and worried.
"Waking up to an empty airplane and not begin able to get out was very horrifying," McGuire told WDIV-TV. She says she walked up and down the aisle for 15 minutes, and though she had cell phone with her, she says she didn't think of calling for help. Finally, the locked door opened and a TSA officer and two Philadelphia police appeared, demanding ID and questioning her for about 10 minutes.
Now she's suing United Airlines, claiming false imprisonment, negligence, emotional distress and breach of contract. Her lawyer says, "For a crew of United Airlines and Trans State Airlines to leave her there and lock her in a plane is beyond unacceptable, beyond a gross abuse." It's beyond even outrageous, it's egregious, preposterous, opprobrious!
Tagged
Ginger McGuire
lawsuit
sleepy
united airlines
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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