Worker Found in Cargo Hold After Plane Makes Emergency Landing When Pilot Heard Banging Below

UPDATE — 7:13 p.m. ET: The worker, an employee of Menzies Aviation, told authorities after walking off the aircraft that he had fallen asleep.

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A crew member was discovered in an Alaska Airline's cargo hold after the pilot reported hearing banging beneath the aircraft and made an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Seattle Monday.

The airline said in a statement that the plane was in the air for 14 minutes and that a ramp agent was found inside the front cargo area after the landing.

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The crew member was taken to the hospital where the individual is said to appear OK. The cargo hold is pressurized and temperature controlled.

Alaska Air said the company is "actively investigating the matter."

The plane, flight 448, was headed to Los Angeles before it made the emergency landing.

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