Stowaway found dead in landing gear of American Airlines flight in Charlotte : NPR
American Airlines’ planes are stationed at Pittsburgh International Airport in 2020 in Imperial, Pennsylvania.
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Gene J. Puskar / AP
The police said that they are investigating the death of a hiding found on Sunday morning inside the compartment of the landing train of an American Airlines flight which had recently arrived in Charlotte, in North Carolina, from Europe.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the maintenance staff discovered the body shortly after 9 am on Sunday during the plane maintenance. Officers of the CMPD airport division said that individual dead on the scene. Homicide detectives and crime premises have responded and the Bureau of the County of Mecklenburg will lead an autopsy.
In a brief statement, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed the discovery at NPR, adding that the airline “worked with the police on its investigation”.
There were no immediate details on the identity of hiding, how they entered the plane or the city of Europe, the flight is from.
The cases of clandestine hidden in wheels are rare but not unprecedented – and survival is even rarer.
Last week, a 13 -year -old boy miraculously survived a 90 -minute air kam flight from Kabul to Delhi, after slipping into the plane landing compartment. The boy, who was returned to Afghanistan, told local authorities that he had wandered in the compartment by curiosity.
Other incidents ended with a tragedy. In January, two bodies were found on the landing gear of a JetBlue plane that had landed in Fort Lauderdale.
Experts say that icy temperatures, extreme wind cooling and lack of oxygen make survival during long flights in very improbable wheel hits.
The Charlotte affair remains under investigation. Anyone with information is requested to call the CMPD Homicide Unit at 704-432-8477 or to leave an anonymous tip by Charlotte Crime Stoppers.
