“There’s A Man On The Wing!”

“With over thirty years as a flight attendant on a mainline carrier, this was just one of many, many unusual things that I have seen at work. I was seated in the back of the plane, where my view of the passenger cabin was restricted. We had just started to slowly drive to eventually begin takeoff, when I was surprised to hear the phone line from the cockpit. I answered the phone, and I heard the captain tell me, ‘The tower just informed me that I have a man on the right wing. Would you please quickly investigate and advise?!’ I quickly agreed, and I flew into the cabin, where to my utter disbelief, I saw the window exit open on the right side. The passengers had their faces glued to their windows in the area, staring outside. There was actually a passenger with his briefcase, crouched down on his wing. He was desperately trying to hang onto the wing as the plane continued to slowly move forward. I ran to the phone to confirm that a man was on the wing and that we needed to stop this plane immediately. It turns out that the passenger was spooked by one of the engines. The right wing engine would occasionally be ‘torching’, which is when it burns off a little extra fuel after starting. It was usually brief and difficult to see, but it was just a weird fluke that wouldn’t affect the rest of the flight. No idea why it terrified this passenger so much, and no idea why he took his briefcase with him! I could never have predicted this insane response. We stopped the plane and carefully got the passenger back onto the plane. He continued with us to his destination without another word! It was so difficult to not burst out into laughter each time I passed him up and down the aisle. I have no idea what was going through this guy’s mind.”