Chicago: A dead body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines jetliner after the aircraft landed in the Hawaiian island of Maui, the airline said on Wednesday.

The body was discovered in the one of the compartments that houses the airplane’s landing gear when United Flight 202 from Chicago O’Hare International Airport landed at Kahului Airport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the airline’s website. No further details about the deceased person were provided.

“The wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft. At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the wheel well,” it said.

United said it was working with authorities on the investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stowaways in the un­press­urised wheel-houses and cargo holds of planes can face temperatures of between minus 50 degrees and minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 58 and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit), as well as a lack of oxygen.

While the fatality rate for most wheel-well stowaways is high, some people have survived the ordeal.

A person was found alive in the undercarriage bay of an Algerian carrier’s aircraft in Paris last year. In January 2022, a stowaway was discovered alive in the wheel section under the front of a Cargolux freight plane that arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport from Africa.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024