A stowaway was found dead Sunday inside the landing gear of an American Airlines plane that had recently traveled from Europe to North Carolina, authorities said.
Crews were performing maintenance on the plane just after 9 a.m. when they discovered the body, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement.
First responders were called to the scene. The stowaway, whose identity and country of origin is unknown, was pronounced dead, police said. It was unclear where in Europe the plane had departed from, and when the flight took place.
An American Airlines spokesperson told The Independent that it was working with law enforcement. Charlotte Douglas International Airport also said it was supporting law enforcement in its investigation.
“CLT Airport is aware of the tragic discovery involving a deceased individual found in an American Airlines aircraft this morning. We are deeply saddened by this news and will support Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) investigation as needed. Airport operations continue as normal,” an airport statement read.
Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Homicide Unit are investigating the incident.
Sunday’s incident comes a little over a week after a 13-year-old Afghan teen survived a perilous flight to India by hiding inside the wheel cabinet of an aircraft, only to be returned home within two hours.
Late last year, a woman successfully sneaked on to a Delta Airlines flight, traveling from New York to Paris, by spending a long time in the plane’s bathroom.
