Air Canada plane makes emergency landing over unclaimed cellphone

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No one claimed the phone as the plane travelled from Edmonton to Toronto
Crew decided to divert to Regina strictly as a precaution, the airline said
Phone belonged to a baggage handler who prepared the plane for take-off

Published: 09:18 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 09:19 EST, 24 September 2015

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An Air Canada flight that was travelling halfway across the country was forced to make an unscheduled landing after an unclaimed mobile phone sparked a security scare at 35,000ft.

Flight AC1156 was flying from Edmonton, Alberta, to Toronto when it diverted to the airport in Regina, Saskatchewan, strictly as a precaution, the airline said.

Passengers told local media the cellphone was discovered before the plane took off, but cabin crew could not locate the owner once the Airbus A320 was in the air.

Flight AC1156 diverted to Regina, Saskatchewan, after no one claimed a cellphone found on a stroller

It turns out the phone belonged to a baggage handler, who apparently dropped it or forgot it while the plane was being prepared for take-off at Edmonton’s airport.

Police officers, paramedics and airport crash tenders met the plane when it arrived in Regina with 136 passengers on board yesterday.

Passenger Jasmine MacDonnell, from Toronto, told the Regina Leader-Post the flight crew kept everyone informed and there was no panic on board.

She said pilot told passengers the mobile phone was found on a stroller by baggage handlers, and staff thought it belonged to the stroller’s owner.

The Airbus A320 was carrying 136 passengers to Toronto's Pearson International Airport

But the plane’s crew was forced to abort the three-hour journey and land in Regina after cabin crew asked passengers if it belonged to one of them and no one claimed it.

The phone was handed over to police, who soon learned that it belonged to an airport employee in Edmonton, Miss MacDonnell told the Regina Leader-Post.

After refuelling, the plane took off and continued its journey to Toronto about two hours behind schedule.

Passenger Cathy Sawyer told CBC News: ‘There were a few signs of exasperation, but otherwise people are in pretty good spirits.’