On Thursday, a woman was found dead at Chicago O’Hare Airport, trapped in a plane in the baggage handling area.
Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, said firefighters were called to the airport around 7:45 a.m. because a person was trapped in a machine transporting luggage. He said they found the woman in a baggage compartment caught in a conveyor belt system.
The police communications center had initially stated that the woman was discovered at 2:27 a.m., which led to confusion as to why firefighters and paramedics did not arrive until more than five hours later.
After checking with police about the timing, Langford said he was told surveillance footage showed the woman entering the luggage room at 2:27 a.m. The communications department issued a second statement Thursday afternoon saying surveillance footage showed the woman entering the room at 2:27 a.m. She was actually discovered at 7:30 a.m., prompting a 911 call.
The baggage compartment was not open to the public, Langford said, and it was unclear how she got in. Scott Allen, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor, said an official from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) visited the scene and learned that the woman was not an airport employee.
