Stowaway found dead in American Airlines plane’s landing gear

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police are investigating how a person found in a plane’s landing gear died.

A maintenance crew was working on an American Airlines plane that had arrived at Charlotte-Douglas Airport when the body was found in the plane’s landing gear, WSOC reported.

The person was pronounced dead at the scene and police are investigating.

The company said it was working with law enforcement for the investigation.

The person’s identity and place of origin were not known, according to police.

CNN said that hiding in a plane’s wheel well is the most common way for someone to stowaway on a flight, but it is extremely dangerous, CNN reported.

“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,” aviation analyst John Nance told ABC News.

About 77% of people who have tried to sneak onto a plane have died, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report from 2019, CNN reported.