A deceased man was discovered in the landing gear of an airplane upon its arrival at Gatwick Airport in London. The individual is believed to have hidden in the aircraft’s undercarriage before the Air Arabia Maroc flight departed from Tangier in Morocco.
The body was found on the morning of Tuesday, June 16, when the plane touched down in the UK. According to a source from The Sun, the airport’s cargo team was shocked to find the stowaway’s body, expressing deep sadness over the desperate act that endangered his life.
Security concerns were raised about how the individual managed to bypass security measures in Morocco. The Casablanca-based airline confirmed the incident, stating that the relevant authorities were promptly informed upon the aircraft’s arrival at Gatwick.
A spokesperson for London Gatwick mentioned that emergency services responded to the incident, offering support to Sussex Police and the coroner. This tragic event is under investigation, and a report is being prepared for the coroner’s review.
This occurrence is not the first of its kind in the UK. In a similar incident in 2019, a stowaway fell from a Kenya Airways plane’s landing gear near Heathrow Airport, leading to a fatal outcome. The risks associated with hiding in the undercarriage of an aircraft include the threat of being crushed as the landing gear retracts after take-off, exposure to extreme temperatures causing hypothermia, as well as potential hearing damage due to high external noise levels.
Despite the challenges, some individuals have miraculously survived such attempts in the past. In 2015, a South African man clung to the landing gear of a plane from Johannesburg and managed to reach his destination in Richmond, London. These incidents highlight the extreme dangers and risks associated with stowing away on aircraft.
