Man Left Locked in Empty Plane After Falling Asleep

Imagine waking up on a completely empty airplane?That's what happened to a Louisiana man.

Tom Wagner says that he fell asleep on his United Airlines ExpressJet flight and woke up alone in the pitch dark after the plane landed at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. Everyone else had left the plane during a layover, ABC reports.

"I woke up and the lights were out. I was like, what's going on?" Wagner told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston. "I thought maybe it was a layover, still on the same plane."

Everyone left the plane and no one seemed to notice that Wagner was still sleeping in his seat. The doors of the plane were locked, leaving him trapped inside.

"I called my girlfriend, and she thought I was crazy. I said, 'Debbie I'm locked on the plane.' I said, 'I'm telling you the truth; you better go somewhere and get me off this plane.'"

Wagner's girlfriend called United. After about half an hour, crew members arrived and came on board. He told the workers, "'Don't put the blame on me. I didn't do anything wrong here.' And then they were, like, try to hush-hush, keep it quiet."

United gave Wagner a free Amenities package, including a toothbrush and toothpaste and gave him a motel room for the night. He wasn't given a refund, but he was given a $250 voucher to help him get to his final destination in California. The flight attendants were sure to announce his name over the intercom to make sure he would get off the plane.

ExpressJet released a statement about the incident to ABC, saying "An ExpressJet passenger remained on board flight 4245, operating as United Express from Lafayette, La. to Houston on Friday, Dec. 6, after all passengers had deplaned. ExpressJet is investigating to determine how this occurred. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused for the passenger."

The airline claims they have no idea how the crew missed Wagner. "What if I had a medical condition or something? What if I had a heart attack and I was dead? You just shut the plane and leave someone on there? It's the way I look at it," Wagner said.