Stowaway found dead in landing gear of American Airlines flight in Charlotte

Police say they are investigating the death of a stowaway found Sunday morning inside the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight that had recently arrived in Charlotte, N.C., from Europe.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said maintenance staff discovered the body shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday while servicing the aircraft. Officers from CMPD’s Airport Division pronounced the individual dead at the scene. Homicide detectives and crime scene teams responded, and the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.

In a brief statement, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed the discovery to NPR, adding the airline was “working with law enforcement on its investigation.”

There were no immediate details about the stowaway’s identity, how they entered the plane, or from what city in Europe the flight originated.

Cases of stowaways hiding in wheel wells are rare but not unprecedented — and survival is rarer still.

Last week, a 13-year-old boy miraculously survived a 90-minute Kam Air flight from Kabul to Delhi, after he slipped into the plane’s landing gear compartment. The boy, who was repatriated back to Afghanistan, told local authorities he had wandered into the compartment out of curiosity.

Other incidents have ended in tragedy. In January, two bodies were found in the landing gear of a JetBlue aircraft that had landed in Fort Lauderdale.

Experts say freezing temperatures, extreme wind chill and a lack of oxygen make survival during long flights in wheel wells highly unlikely.

The Charlotte case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the CMPD Homicide Unit at 704-432-8477 or leave an anonymous tip through Charlotte Crime Stoppers.