A tragic discovery has sparked an investigation after a dead body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight that landed in Hawaii.
The Boeing 787-10 aircraft had flown from Chicago O'Hare International Airport and touched down at Kahului Airport on Maui on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities and the airline are working to uncover how the unidentified person accessed the plane's landing gear compartment.
Body Found in Wheel Well of United Airlines Flight from Chicago to Maui
Flight 202 departed Chicago at 9:31 am local time and arrived in Maui at 2:12 pm, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.
Shortly after landing, United Airlines staff discovered the body in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears.
The Maui Police Department confirmed the discovery and stated that the case is under active investigation.
According to the New York Times, Alana K. Pico, a spokesperson for the department, said the individual had not yet been identified. United Airlines has expressed its commitment to assisting law enforcement with the investigation.
The wheel well, located beneath the aircraft, is accessible only from outside and is primarily used to house retractable landing gear. It remains unclear how or when the person entered the compartment.
Experts note that survival in wheel wells during a flight is exceedingly rare due to extreme conditions. As planes ascend to cruising altitudes, temperatures can plunge to as low as minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and oxygen levels drop significantly, making the environment deadly.
Stowaway Fatalities Highlight Dangers of Aircraft Landing Gear Compartments
Instances of stowaways using landing gear compartments are not unprecedented, though most attempts result in fatalities, USA Today said.
In 2021, a man survived a flight from Guatemala to Miami in the wheel well of an airplane, but such cases are exceptional.
More commonly, stowaways succumb to hypothermia, suffocation, or the physical hazards of the landing gear.
In recent years, several fatalities have occurred under similar circumstances. In 2019, a man fell from the wheel well of a flight traveling from Nairobi, Kenya, to London's Heathrow Airport, landing in a residential backyard.
While the motive or circumstances surrounding this latest incident remain unknown, investigators are considering the possibility that the individual was attempting to stow away. The Federal Aviation Administration has not commented on the ongoing investigation.
This tragic event highlights the dangers and desperation associated with stowaways attempting to access aircraft wheel wells. As authorities work to piece together what happened, questions linger about the individual's identity and what led them to this fatal decision.
