--- title: FedEx Worker Becomes Stowaway on Flight description: The FedEx worker became overcome with exhaustion while inside the plane. canonical: https://time.com/4296615/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-15T22:02:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:31:37.760Z og:title: FedEx Worker Accidentally Becomes Airplane Stowaway og:description: It wasn't quite express shipping og:url: https://time.com/4296615/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1432132d773901a/69888f5e0a4a229d7c9c9445/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: FedEx Corp. Deliveries Ahead Of Earnings Figures og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FedEx Worker Accidentally Becomes Airplane Stowaway twitter:description: It wasn't quite express shipping twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1432132d773901a/69888f5e0a4a229d7c9c9445/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # FedEx Worker Accidentally Becomes Airplane Stowaway > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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Christopher Dilts—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Phil Helsel / NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## Phil Helsel / NBC News Apr 15, 2016 10:02 PM UTC A FedEx ground worker fell asleep on a plane in Memphis Friday morning and went unnoticed before he woke up mid-flight on the way to Texas, triggering a police response when the aircraft landed, authorities said. The ground crew member, who works two jobs, apparently [became overcome with exhaustion ](http://www.kcbd.com/story/31733904/officials-fedex-stowaway-awoke-from-worktime-nap-mid-flight)while inside the plane and the plane’s crew then took off for Lubbock, failing to notice they’d locked him inside. Toward the end of the flight, the worker, whom officials did not identify, woke up and knocked on the cabin door. “And of course the crew did not open the door…” [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/airplane-stowaway-turns-out-be-fedex-worker-who-fell-asleep-n556821?cid=sm%5Ftw?cid=par-time-article%5F20141002) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4296615/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4296615/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway/"},"headline":"FedEx Worker Accidentally Becomes Airplane Stowaway","datePublished":"2016-04-15T22:02:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:37.760Z","description":"It wasn't quite express shipping","url":"https://time.com/4296615/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Aviation","Bizarre","airplanes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1432132d773901a/69888f5e0a4a229d7c9c9445/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phil Helsel / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1432132d773901a/69888f5e0a4a229d7c9c9445/fedex-worker-airplane-stowaway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FedEx Corp. 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