A stowaway was found dead in the landing gear of an American Airlines flight that arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Sunday (September 28) morning, ABC News reports.
The person was discovered by crews performing post-flight maintenance on the plane at around 9:00 a.m. local time. The stowaway was declared dead at the scene, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
American Airlines confirmed it was working alongside authorities as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
“We are working with law enforcement on its investigation,” the airline confirmed in a statement to ABC News.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport authorities also shared a statement addressing the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by this news and will support the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) investigation as needed. Airport operations continue as normal,” the airport said via ABC News.
Incidents in which a stowaway attempts to travel on a commercial plane nearly always end in death due to extreme dangers and conditions to the person being exposed to the inside wheelwell, aviation John Nance told ABC News.
“A human body exposed for many hours to temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit courts extensive frostbite and loss of limbs, even if the utter lack of oxygen at 35,000 feet or more doesn’t result in brain death,” said Nance, who claimed there were also rare, but nearly unheard of, cases of survival and the risks were too dangerous to ignore.
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