Only a few passengers remained when Laura finally decided to leave. She retrieved her suitcase from the overhead compartment and made her way down the aisle. The flight attendants were still at the door of the airplane saying goodbye to the passengers. Laura gave them each a smile and ducked her head as she went past them out the door. While the crowd had thinned inside the plane, it thickened on ahead. Some passengers were walking slowly and had created congestion along the passageway. Laura approached the crowd and shifted her suitcase from her right hand to both hands in front.