All Time Worst Luggage Incidents

Budget Travel: Most travelers worry about airlines losing their bags, but that's nothing compared to these tragic tales. From a bag that wound up swamped by sewage to a suitcase set ablaze on the tarmac, here are the nine worst luggage incidents of all time.

1. 240 Suitcases Swamped by Raw Sewage One thing you never expect to hear is that your luggage is buried in excrement. True story: In November 2010, a waste pipe in London Heathrow's Terminal 1 burst, swamping about 240 suitcases with human waste. Said a source at the scene: "Gallons of raw sewage came spewing out. The stench was appalling."

2. United Airlines Sets Woman's Luggage on Fire Burned luggage rivals sewage on the suitcase-disaster scale. In December 2008, a woman was called into the cockpit of a United plane, where a pilot pointed to a blaze on the tarmac. "See that?" he said. "That's your luggage." It caught fire after being placed too close to the engine."

3. Suitcase Soaked in Jet Fuel What's more upsetting than deplaning and finding your luggage so infused with jet fuel that it's emitting fumes? Having the airline (Delta, in this case) tell you to try to clean it before it'll even consider reimbursing you for it. Good thing there were no fires associated with this incident.

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