Stowaway found dead in landing gear of American Airlines flight

A stowaway was found dead in the landing gear of an American Airlines flight that arrived in North Carolina from Europe.

Crew at Charlotte Douglas International Airport were performing routine maintenance on the plane discovered the person around nine o’clock on the morning of September 28.

The stowaway was declared dead on the scene.

Homicide detectives and crime scene officials responded and the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s office will perform an autopsy on the stowaway’s body.

American Airlines is reportedly working closely with Charlotte law enforcement on their investigation.

There were no immediate details released by the company about who the stowaway was, how they got into the landing gear, or from which European city the flight originated.

However, American Airlines offers routes between Charlotte and many European cities including London, Rome, Paris, and Madrid.

Charlotte Airline Authorities were aware of the incident.

In a statement obtained by ABC, they said: ‘We are deeply saddened by this news and will support the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s investigation as needed.

‘Airport operations continue as normal.’

A body was found in the landing gear of an American Airlines plane while a maintenance crew was working on it

The flight had arrived from Europe to the Charlotte Douglas International airport

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department also addressed the tragic discovery in a statement.

They said: ‘Homicide Unit detectives responded to the scene to conduct an investigation, and Crime Scene Search responded to process the scene and collect physical evidence.’

Stowing away on an airliner is dangerous, but not unheard of.

Earlier this month, a 13-year-old boy reportedly snuck into the landing gear compartment of a passenger plan travelling from Kabul, Afghanistan to Delhi, India miraculously survived the 90 minute, 720-mile flight.

But most stowaways do not survive the journey.

The body was found while crews were performing routine maintenance on the aircraft

Charlotte police and homicide detectives will work closely with American Airlines to investigate the incident

At the beginning of 2025, two teenagers were found dead in the landing gear of a JetBlue flight between New York and Fort Lauderdale.

Aviation analyst John Nance said that temperatures in the landing gear compartment of the plane are unregulated and can dip as low as negative 60 degrees.

A person subjected to such extreme temperatures could suffer extensive frost bite and limb loss.

The cabin of an airliner is pressurized to provide customers with breathable oxygen at altitudes above 10,000 feet. The landing gear compartment is not, which means the lack of oxygen could cause brain death in stowaways.

Survivors were likely sustained through the flight by heat from the wheel well, loss of consciousness, and hypothermia which helped preserve their nervous system, according to Wright State University.

The official cause of death of the Charlotte stowaway has no been released, as the incident is still under investigation.