Plane eats cargo

JAL's appetite for cargo: a case of human error or has dwindling freight volume literally prompt an airplane into ingesting a baggage container?

Earlier this week, A Japan Airlines (JAL) plane sucked up a large metal baggage container, with one of its engines, as the plane prepared to depart from Los Angeles International Airport.

The incident took place on Monday, just as JAL flight 61 heading to Narita, Japan was leaving one of the airport's gates at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Media sources have suggested that during the unfortunate event, the baggage cart was either parked or driven too close to the aircraft, when the vacuum created by the engines preparing for take-off sucked the baggage cart into the left outboard engine housing.

Fortunately, all 245 passengers and 18 crew members on board made a lucky escape due to a quick thinking pilot in charge. The plane was duly grounded and towed to a hangar for investigation by The Federal Aviation Administration.

Could this be another big blunder by baggage handlers, frequently flamed for luggage that go missing on flights, or did poor volumes really prompt the airliner into a sporadic action.