A man’s body was found stowed away in the undercarriage of a plane following a flight from Gambia to Britain earlier this month.
Sussex Police said the grisly discovery came when the TUI Airlines plane, which flew from the West African country of Gambia, landed at Gatwick International Airport on Dec. 7.
Police are investigating the mysterious incident, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
The deceased man carried no information or documents that shared his identity. Officials also haven’t confirmed his identity.
“According to the information, the deceased black male was found within the wheel bay of the aircraft without identification documents to establish his name, age, nationality or travel itinerary,” Gambian government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh told the Mirror.
“It is, therefore, not clear at this stage, who he is.”
While it may be tempting to hitch a ride and attempt to snag a free flight, hiding out in the landing gear of an aircraft very often leads to death by exposure. Not only that, but flights will spend hours at freezing 38,000 feet altitude where oxygen is scarce.
Though uncommon, it’s not the first time a sneaky passenger has been found on planes or ships arriving in Europe. In 2015, Dutch authorities discovered a body in the landing gear of a plane from Africa at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Last year, a stowaway hid inside the wheel of an American Airlines flight from Guatemala to Miami for three hours — and survived.
