Stowaway Found Dead in Jet's Landing Gear After Europe Flight

A grim discovery in Charlotte has sparked an investigation after airline staff found a stowaway dead inside the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight that had just arrived from Europe. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, the body was discovered by maintenance workers around 9am Sunday while they were servicing the aircraft, NPR reports. Airport police pronounced the person dead at the scene, and homicide investigators, along with the county medical examiner, have launched an inquiry. An autopsy is planned. American Airlines confirmed the discovery and said it is cooperating with authorities. No information has been released yet about the stowaway's identity, how they managed to access the plane, or from which European city the flight departed.

Incidents involving stowaways hiding in wheel wells are highly unusual—and surviving such a journey is even more rare. Only last week, a 13-year-old in Afghanistan survived a similar ordeal, but many cases end in tragedy. In January, two bodies were recovered from the landing gear of a JetBlue flight that landed in Florida. Experts note that the harsh conditions inside the compartment—freezing temperatures, low oxygen, and intense wind—make survival on long flights extremely unlikely. The investigation in Charlotte is ongoing. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the police department's homicide unit or Charlotte Crime Stoppers, WCNC Charlotte reports.