(FreedomBeacon.com)- An unidentified body was discovered in an aircraft’s undercarriage earlier this month. The flight was going from Gambia to Britain, according to The New York Post. Sussex Police reportedly discovered the body on the TUI Airlines plane that landed at Gatwick International Airport on Dec. 7.
Police are investigating the incident and preparing a report to the coroner. The man had no identification, information, or documents on his person when he was found, leaving officials unable to identify who he might be.
“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 said.
Hitching a ride in the undercarriage is dangerous, the outlet reports. It often leads to death by exposure as a flight traveling 38,000 feet in the air is where there is freezing temperature and lack of oxygen.
This incident is not the first time a passenger has been found mysteriously on a plane or ship arriving in Europe. Dutch authorities found a man in the undercarriage of a plane traveling from Africa to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Last year, another man was discovered to be hiding inside the wheel of an American Airlines flight and he miraculously survived, according to The New York Post. The flight was traveling from Guatemala to Miami. The 26-year-old stowaway hid there for three hours before being apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and transported to the hospital.
It remains unclear how the man survived or got into the small landing gear compartment, but an investigation was ongoing between Miami-Dade police and CBP.
Average cruising altitude for a commercial flight is reportedly 30,000 to 40,000 feet, where the temperature ranges from -40° F to -70° F. Security consultant Luis Chinchilla said the spot that the man stashed himself in may have had “tolerable air.”
