Back in the 80's my friend was locked in the bathroom of TWA L-1011. It was a red-eye from SFO to JFK. She and I were sitting together and she got up to use the loo and got locked in. I noticed she wasn't back after about 10 minutes but just thought she was in the back smoking. One of the FA's finally heard her banging on the door after about 30 minutes. It was a hoot however she didn't think it was so funny.

It's a disconcerting feeling, isn't it? Glad you were able to get the FA's attention.

I got trapped once in an airplane lav, and it was harrowing. Still haunts me. Back in 1987, I was going to grad school in Chicago and had scored a job interview with Goldman Sachs in New York. A classmate had a NY interview the same day, so we bought tix together to fly on AA from ORD to EWR. I am pretty sure it was on a DC10.

My alarm failed to go off, so I woke up only when my buddy arrived at my house. I threw on various parts of a suit, grabbed my toiletry kit, and basically got dressed in the car. We barely made the flight.

After the seatbelt sign went off, I took the toiletry kit to the lav at the extreme rear of the plane. I think there were like 4 lavs side-by-side. I tried to shave, but heavy turbulence made it all but impossible and I cut myself to ribbons. I washed up as best I could, then tried to exit. The latch worked, but in what was one of the worst airplane designs ever, AA had put fold-down FA worktables on the walls next to the lavs and one was now wedging my bathroom door absolutely shut. I tried the call button, but it was broken -- the button actually fell into its own hole, obviously broken previously by someone else in a similar situation. I pounded on the door and shouted, but with the engine right overhead no one heard me. 30 minutes later, when breakfast service was over, an FA folded up the table and I came tumbling out of the lavatory.

I complained to AA, but got a very curt letter back saying, in effect, that unless I had a degree in aircraft design they weren't interested in my comments. I was so outraged that I didn't set foot in an AA plane for over 10 years.

OMG, I had no idea this happened so often! Very glad to have stories of people who have gone through this, so if it happens to me I know how to survive (and hopefully get out) with grace and humor.

Same with me.

That's so funny. They probably wouldn't have found me there though ... I could see myself getting a little freaked out and kicking that door in.