Tiffani Adams was a passenger aboard a 90-minute Air Canada flight from Quebec to Toronto Pearson International Airport on June 9. After falling asleep during the ride, she awoke several hours later to find herself alone in an empty, darkened cabin. It had been a few hours since the jet had landed, the other passengers and crew had deplaned and the aircraft had been powered down and parked for the night, far from the gates.
In a Facebook post shared by a friend, Adams explained that she’d been sitting in a row by herself when she dozed off, then, “I wake up around midnight (few hours after flight landed) freezing cold still strapped in my seat in complete darkness (I’m talking pitch black) as someone with and anxiety disorder as is I can tell you how terrifying this was.”
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Her first move was to try contacting a friend in Toronto, but Adams’ phone quickly died. In a panic, she tried several USB ports in an attempt to recharge her phone but realized the plane was completely powerless once turned off. Clambering around the cabin while trying to control her panic attack, she made her way to the cockpit and tried to radio for help but couldn’t get the radios working either.
“I was so overjoyed when I found a flashlight in the cockpit and I’m making some flashy sos signals out the windows hoping someone sees me,” Adams continued in her post. With the aid of the flashlight, she was then able to find the latches to open the main door and continued trying to catch someone’s attention.
After some time, a crew member must’ve seen her frantic, impromptu distress signals, as she waved the flashlight out of the door, bouncing its beam off the plane’s reflective exterior to try to catch someone’s eye from a distance.
“When I see the luggage cart driving towards me I am literally dangling my legs out of the plane…he is in shock asking how the heck they left me on the plane…I’m wondering the same (when my seat an inch back or my tray down flight crew take notice but yet you missed a person still strapped into her seat and just all go on home?!?!”
The employee had a ladder dock, and Adams was able to “jump to safety.” Afterward, Air Canada cars pulled up, asking whether she was okay and offering her a limo and hotel, but she told them she just wanted to get home.
Adams has described nightmares and increased anxiety as a result of her ordeal, posting, “I haven’t got much sleep since the reoccurring night terrors and waking up anxious and afraid I’m alone locked up someplace dark.”
Air Canada has followed up with Adams several times since the incident to inquire after her well-being, apologize for her trouble and to determine how this mess occurred. A spokesperson for Air Canada confirmed to Fox News on Sunday they remain in contact “with the customer” and are looking into what allegedly occurred.
According to Adams’ Facebook post, she was told by the airline that it is investigating the mishap, because “they have checks in place that should prevent people from being locked on the aircraft at night.”
