Police investigate after stowaway discovered on American Airlines jet

CHARLOTTE — A stowaway was discovered dead in the wheel well of a Boeing 777 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Sunday.

The discovery was made at the American Airlines maintenance facility, where police were seen investigating the scene on the tarmac.

The stowaway’s death highlights the extreme dangers associated with attempting to hide in the wheel wells of aircraft.

“They’re desperate to get out of their situation; they don’t realize how dangerous this is and how likely they are to die,” said Michael Lowrey, an aviation expert.

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Lowrey explained that the fatality rate for stowaways is about 75%, according to FAA data.

“First of all, when the landing gear retracts, it can crush somebody,” Lowrey said.

He also noted that the human body is not designed for the conditions at cruising altitudes.

“You’d have the problems of hypothermia, it just gets really cold up there, you essentially freeze, or lack of air,” Lowrey added.

The aircraft had been ferried from El Salvador to Dallas for maintenance, where it spent six weeks.

While the airline has not provided much detail about the incident, online airline enthusiasts identified the plane’s tail number and tracked its movements over the past week.

Lowrey mentioned that while security is generally good in Charlotte and Europe, El Salvador might be a more likely place for the stowaway to have boarded, though this is not certain.

Although stowing away in the wheel well of an aircraft is extremely dangerous, there have been rare instances of survival, typically on shorter flights.

However, the chances of surviving a long-haul, transoceanic flight are much lower.

The tragic incident at Charlotte Douglas International Airport underscores the perilous risks faced by individuals attempting to stow away on aircraft.

Despite the dangers, some continue to take these life-threatening risks in hopes of escaping their circumstances.

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