Stowaway Death on United Airlines Flight to Hawaii

United States: United Airlines (UAL.O) said on Wednesday that a man was discovered earlier that day in the undercarriage of the aircraft after the flight landed in the Hawaiian island of Maui.

The corpse was found in one of the compartments where the plane’s landing gears are situated after United Flight 202 from Chicago O’Hare International Airport arrived at Kahului Airport on Tuesday afternoon, as the airline posted. Unfortunately, no additional information regarding the decedent was given to the readers, as reported by Reuters.

Unclear Circumstances Surrounding Access

“The wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft. At this time, it is unclear how or when the person accessed the wheel well,” it said.

Body found in wheel well of United Airlines flight on Christmas Eve after landing in Hawaii https://t.co/yl6ExTXijO

— 13News Now (@13NewsNow) December 26, 2024

United said that it was cooperating with authorities on the probe. The Federal Aviation Administration had not provided a comment to this request at the time of writing this article.

Deadly Risks of Stowing Away in Aircraft

According to stowaways, those found in the wheel-houses and cargo holds of planes that do not have pressurized cabins risk suffering from brutal cold, which ranges from minus 50 degrees Celsius to minus 60 degrees, plus a lack of oxygen.

A body was discovered in the wheel well of United Airlines Flight 202 upon its arrival at Kahului Airport in Maui on Christmas Eve.#KahuluiAirport #Hawaii #UnitedAirlines #TheDailyIntakehttps://t.co/mMzzKMVWs9 pic.twitter.com/4qYDobizxh

— The Daily Intake (@dailyintake2023) December 26, 2024

Even though there are many fatalities, some individuals have been known to survive in the wheel well of an airplane.

Notable Stowaway Incidents

A dead body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines Flight after it landed at Kahului Airport in Maui, which departed from Chicago's O'Hare airport. The matter is under investigation, and the deceased is yet to be identified.
Follow for the latest updates.#wsn pic.twitter.com/rLC6NwKCA6

— World Spotlight News (@WdSpotlightnews) December 26, 2024

Last year, a naked man was discovered alive in the undercarriage bay of an aircraft of the Algerian carrier company in Paris. In January 2022, a stowaway was found alive in the wheel well at the front part of a Cargolux cargo plane that had arrived from Africa at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, as reported by Reuters.