The dufflebags were hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement near Midway airport on Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Officials are still trying to figure out what caused the cargo door of a Delta (Atlantic Southeast, to be precise) airliner to come open, spilling bags out of the airplane thousands of feet above Chicagoland.

Delta Flight No. 4718 took off about 9:40 a.m. and was forced to circle back to Midway shortly after takeoff when a pressure problem in the cabin was detected and instruments showed a cargo door had opened during flight, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.

After the plane landed safely and taxied to the gate, a crew inspecting the plane found one of the two cargo doors ajar, said Kate Modolo, a spokeswoman for Atlantic Southeast. A baggage inventory determined two pieces of luggage were gone.

One of the bags was found about a half mile from Midway airport, and Delta is still in the process of reuniting the bag with its owner. The other one is still missing.

We are not sure if Delta was under the impression that dufflebags could fly.

Officials find bag that fell from jet near Midway [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks, Daniel!)

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