How did a body end up in the wheel well of United Airlines plane? Here's what we know so far
Plenty of questions still remain two days after authorities discovered a dead body in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after the aircraft completed a flight from Chicago to Hawaii.
The aircraft took off from Chicago O'Hare International Airport and landed Tuesday afternoon at Kahului Airport on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Once it arrived, a body was found in one of the main landing gears, United Airlines previously told Paste BN.
Who the person was and what led them to the wheel well remains unclear. While stowaways have previously used wheel wells of airplanes to sneak onto flights, authorities and airline officials have not given a reason for why the person was found there.
Here's what we know so far:
How did the person access the wheel well?
United Airlines said in its previous statement to Paste BN that investigators have not yet determined "how or when the person accessed the wheel well."
The compartment, which houses the airplane's landing gear, was "only accessible from outside of the aircraft," United said, adding that it was working with authorities on the investigation.
The Maui Police Department confirmed Wednesday to Paste BN that it was "actively investigating the discovery of a deceased individual on an incoming flight from the mainland."
No further details were available at the time. Paste BN left a message Thursday with the police department seeking an update on the investigation.
Who was the deceased person?
Neither authorities nor the airline have named the person found in the wheel well, nor released any identifying information about the person.
United Airlines had no new information to share when reached Thursday morning by Paste BN.
The Federal Aviation Administration referred questions to the airline and local authorities when reached Thursday by Paste BN.
Wheel wells commonly used by stowaways
While it is unclear whether the person was attempting to stow away on the flight, it's not uncommon for people to use wheel wells, nose wells and other unpressurized areas to sneak onto aircraft.
Stowaways in the unpressurized wheel houses and cargo holds of planes have to contend with freezing conditions, with temperatures that can reach between minus 58 degrees and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit, Reuters reported. A lack of oxygen and the risk of being crushed by the plane's wheels also make the practice often a deadly one.
But while the fatality rate for most wheel well stowaways is high, some people have survived the ordeal.
A person was found alive in the undercarriage bay of an Algerian carrier's aircraft in Paris last year. In January 2022, a man was found alive in the nose wheel of a cargo plane arriving from South Africa to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, and a man managed to ride in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight from Guatemala to Miami in 2021 before being taken to the hospital upon arrival in the U.S.
In 2014, a 15-year-old boy reportedly was able to stow away in a plane's wheel well and survive a 5½-hour Hawaiian Airlines flight from San Jose to Maui.
Contributing: Reuters