Call Button Ring of the Year
 

I have an entry for "Call Button Ring of the Year" award.

I was recently on a SFO-LAX in F on AA when shortly after pushback a window passenger not too far away from me rings the bell. FA comes over and the pax advises the FA that a bag has fallen and is sitting on the ground. The implication is that it somehow fell off the plane because we were late leaving supposedly due to ground crews not being done loading bags.

I'm not sure what the FA was supposed to do but just when he was done telling his story to the FA, someone on a baggage cart on the ground comes by and picks up the bag. False alarm (if we even want to call this an alarm) and problem solved.

Story over? Not quite, it gets better. A pax on the other side of the aisle asks the pax to describe the bag that was on the ground because she was obviously concerned it was her bag. If someone on the ground has it now its probably not getting back on the plane since we had pushed back. The reporting pax could only say a "generic bag". In all fairness it was dark outside. Then the reporting pax advises the bag fell off the nearby baggage cart NOT the plane. At this point everyone is looking at the reporting pax like ...?!?!!?!?

I guess since we were on the plane nearest to the dropped bag, it was going to be the responsibility of our FA to get it resolved. Anyway, I found it quite humorous and I am submitting this as my official "Call Button Ring of the Year" entry.

:) Although a little wierd.

I was all confused while reading through the OP's post, thinking all the while that the call button was pressed for a bag that fell out of an OVERHEAD BIN, and that a passenger was too lazy to get it him/herself and requested assistance from an F/A. :D

Never mind...

yes
 

That's exactly what I assumed.

I was in first going from Delhi to Chicago when the lady in the coffin next to me rang the buzzer - we were sitting on the runway, third from taking off.

The FA hustles back, seeing that the passenger was upset. "What is it"

"I am scared to fly."

"That's ok, maam, our pilot is scared of dying."

...and the winner is... :D

Seems to me that the pax who rang the button might have been concerned that a baggage door was open on the plane, and somehow the pilot didn't know. Not much less far-fetched than the other reads of the OP, but of slightly more justifiable concern.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

That was hilarious! :D

Though I would be very concerned that you were sitting on the RUNWAY, third on takeoff. Not sure runways are supposed to have three aircraft sitting on it waiting to take off. ;)

Perhaps they should charge for using the call button.

This is not a far-fetched situation. I took off from SLC once on a DL jet with rear-mounted engines. The baggage door had not been secured. On opening it cut off air inflow to one of the engines, which flamed out. Once the door was no longer being sucked in to block the engine, air flow resumed and the engine restarted - only to pull the door again, flame out again, etc., etc., as the plane made a slow turn on one engine and returned to the airport. I don't know how much luggage fell out, if any, but unsecured baggage doors upon takeoff - while hopefully rare - are not unheard of.

I don't know if I would have ever been able to fly again after that... :(

Years ago, we flew China Air from Wuhan to ??...

Anyway, when they went to close the baggage door, it wouldn't close the last few mm. No problem - they brought out the rubber mallet and tapped it home.

I don't know which was more disturbing - that they did it, or that it was routine enough that the mallet was stowed on the baggage tug...

-----Burton

I've thought about that. It was over before we knew what was happening. The pilot explained later, back on the ground. My priority at the time was to meet some Canadian friends, so I went to the Crown Room and, instead of flying to Calgary (their home) to meet them there and drive to Edmonton, I rebooked on the next flight to Edmonton and met them there. You get caught up in the activity of the moment and don't step back to think about it. Then I was in Calgary (we drove back from Edmonton) and had to return to Boston. There's no practical way to do that other than flying. By the time I was home, I had made three uneventful flights and was back in the groove.

Over half a million actual flight miles later, that's the closest I've come to an accident. I hope it stays that way.