Ontario man 'shocked' golf fairways broken after Air Canada plane crash

An Ontario man was “shocked” when his golf bag was torn and his clubs were broken while driving home from Florida to Toronto last November.

As he has done many times before, Aldo Mucciarone packed his golf clubs into a soft travel golf bag for air travel. The clubs arrived safely in Florida from Toronto Pearson Airport.

As they were flying home on Air Canada, Aldo's wife, Rose, told them to check the golf bag with the rest of their normal luggage and put it on the conveyor belt.

“We said, 'Shouldn't this go through the oversized baggage area?' we asked. He said, “No, it's fine.” I said, “Are you sure?” I said. Because other times it goes through oversized cargo,” said Rose Mucciarone.

When they arrived at Toronto Pearson, they found the golf bag torn apart, with all the clubs inside broken or bent.

A man's golf clubs were returned to Toronto Pearson after an Air Canada flight from Florida.

“We were shocked. It was amazing. He took each one apart and saw that they were all destroyed. They were crushed, bent. To be honest, I think they were put through the wrong luggage area or through the trunk lid. The bag fell off the truck and got crushed.” Rose.

The Mucciarones said they filed a complaint with Air Canada and ordered them to provide the original receipts for the golf clubs, which they did not have.

“My husband had been collecting these golf clubs for years, but we didn't have the receipts for them,” Rose said.

According to Rose, Air Canada informed them that their case was closed without a receipt.

He said, “Without a receipt, that's it, it's over.” It surprised me,” Rose said.

An Air Canada spokesperson told CTV News Toronto that the issue has now been resolved.

“We work directly with our customers. However, I can tell you that this customer provided the additional information we expected … and we have now resolved the issue,” the spokesperson said.

Air Canada agreed to pay the couple $2,350 for the damaged golf bag and golf clubs, as well as two $300 vouchers for future flights.

Rose said the money will go toward a new set of golf clubs for her husband.

“We are very happy to receive compensation for what happened,” said Rose Mucciarone.

If you are flying with golf clubs, make sure they are checked in at the appropriate area. You can also use a hard shell instead of a soft cover, if you have expensive golf clubs you may want to know if there are any limits on compensation if they are damaged.