Fatal Discovery: Body Found in American Airlines Plane Wheel Well After Frankfurt-Charlotte Flight

Stowaways concealing themselves in aircraft wheel wells represent an extremely rare and typically fatal occurrence.

A deceased individual was discovered within the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines aircraft that had arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina from Europe on Sunday morning. The disturbing finding occurred during standard maintenance procedures in a hangar at approximately 9 am, according to ABC News.

The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft had flown from Frankfurt Airport in Germany and had been stationary at the airport for nearly 48 hours before the body was located. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has initiated a homicide investigation and verified that the person was declared dead at the location. Law enforcement officials are currently investigating how and when the stowaway gained access to the aircraft.

"On Sunday, September 28, shortly after 9 a.m., while performing maintenance on an American Airlines plane that had recently arrived from Europe, a stowaway was located in the landing gear. The subject was pronounced deceased on scene by CMPD's Airport Division officers," stated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

American Airlines provided a statement to ABC News saying, "We are working with law enforcement on its investigation."

Stowaway incidents involving wheel wells are exceptionally uncommon, and survival in such circumstances is even more extraordinary. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that over 77% of individuals who attempt to hide in wheel wells do not survive. Aviation experts explain that the combination of freezing temperatures, extreme wind chill, and oxygen deprivation makes surviving a lengthy flight in an aircraft's wheel well virtually impossible.

Aviation analyst John Nance told ABC News, "A human body exposed for many hours to temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit courts extensive frostbite and loss of limbs, even if the utter lack of oxygen at 35,000 feet or more doesn't result in brain death."

This recent incident follows a similar case from January, when two teenage stowaways were discovered deceased in the wheel well of a JetBlue flight.

In contrast, last week a 13-year-old boy remarkably survived a 90-minute journey from Kabul to Delhi after hiding in the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air aircraft. He claimed to have accidentally entered the compartment out of curiosity and was subsequently returned to Afghanistan.