Mystery Unfolds as Body is Uncovered in Wheel Well of United Airlines Flight
The body was found after the flight, which had departed from Chicago, arrived in Hawaii. Authorities are investigating the cause of death.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities confirmed that a body was discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines aircraft that had just landed in Hawaii after flying from Chicago. The flight, United Airlines Flight 202, departed from Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 9:31 a.m. and arrived at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui at 2:12 p.m., according to FlightAware, a company that tracks flight data.
After the plane landed, United Airlines confirmed in a statement that a body was found in the wheel well of one of the aircraft’s main landing gears. The Maui Police Department reported that the person, whose identity has not been disclosed, was found deceased. A department spokeswoman, Alana K. Pico, stated that the police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. United Airlines added that they are cooperating with law enforcement authorities in the investigation.
It remains unclear how or when the individual managed to enter the wheel well, a compartment located beneath the plane that houses the retractable landing gear. United Airlines clarified that the area where the body was found can only be accessed from the outside of the aircraft. The plane involved in the incident was a Boeing 787-10, according to a spokesperson for the airline.
The conditions within wheel wells, such as low oxygen levels and extreme temperatures at high altitudes, make it nearly impossible for individuals to survive in these compartments during flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agency did not provide immediate comment on the incident. Although it has been noted that people attempting to hide in wheel wells have rarely survived, the police have not confirmed whether the deceased individual was a stowaway.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. In 2021, a 26-year-old man survived a flight from Guatemala to Miami after hiding in the airplane’s landing gear compartment. In 2019, the body of a man believed to have fallen from the landing gear of a plane traveling from Nairobi, Kenya, to Heathrow Airport in London was discovered in a backyard in southwest London.
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