Body found in United Airlines 747 wheel well

[Midnight Mike]

Body found in United Airlines 747 wheel well

07/19/2007 10:25:27 AM PDT

A body was discovered inside the wheel well of a United Airlines Boeing 747 that landed this morning at San Francisco International Airport, according to airport spokesman Mike McCarron.

Mechanics found what appears to be a man's body inside the wheel well of the nose gear during a post-flight inspection of United Flight 858, which arrived this morning from Shanghai around 8 a.m., McCarron said.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office is investigating the cause of death.
According to the airport's Web site, the plane was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles at 10:45 a.m.

In January, a stowaway was found dead in the wheel well of a British Airways jet that landed at Los Angeles International Airport. In 2001, the body of a 19-year-old native of Zaire was found inside the wheel well of a US Airways Flight from London to San Francisco.

[AirtrafficController]

This sounds like someone trying to enter the cabin through the ladning gear area. How was he able to hang on from take off ?

[PHL Approach]

The body of a 19-year-old native of Zaire was found inside the wheel well of a US Airways Flight from London to San Francisco.

Talk about a typo... Since when have we have service from LGW to SFO :roll:

[Nonstop2AUH]

While these stories are generally viewed as sad tales of desperate immigrants, someone should really take a good look at foreign airport security, because if an unauthorized person is able to get into the wheel well of an aircraft, that very same person could easily bring an explosive device with him.

[cancidas]

how did he manage to squeeze into the wheel well with the landing gear retracted? there isn't much room in there, and it sure can't be comfortable.

[AndrewM]

Body found in United Airlines 747 wheel well



Mechanics found what appears to be a man's body inside the wheel well of the nose



how did he manage to squeeze into the wheel well with the landing gear retracted? there isn't much room in there, and it sure can't be comfortable.


I'm thinking when they say it "appears to be a man's body" that he probably didn't neatly fit in the wheel well and probably got pretty mangled when the gear came up.

[hiss srq]

"Positive rate.... gear up...... ohh the gear is fitting nice and snug tonight or did we get the grease points re greased here?"

[PhilDernerJr]

I have to say that this kind of occurrence is very interesting to me. It's almost common, and it usually shows a person's desperation to come to the United States for whatever purpose.

[stuart schechter]

"Land of the free and the home of the brave"

[nwafan20]

This sounds like someone trying to enter the cabin through the ladning gear area. How was he able to hang on from take off ?

Um... you know its impossible to enter the cabin via the landing gear, right?

[hiss srq]

Actually not true on certain airplanes. There are compartments. I know for a fact on the MD-11 there is access via the nose gear well on the MD-11 though I am not sure of the remainder. There may well and probabliy likely is on the 747 as well. If memory serves me correct via the MLG well as well on the DC-9 family there is accessability as well. I recall vaugely of it from someone in MX at YX.

[PhilDernerJr]

Hiss is right. I know people, who strangely look exactly like me, who have done it.

[cancidas]

Hiss is right. I know people, who strangely look exactly like me, who have done it.


on the -60 we used to do that too. just sit on the mains and the next minute you're sitting behind the stick.

[Matt Molnar]

It was only a couple of years ago that the leg (with sneaker still attached) of a stowaway fell out of the gear well of a South African Airways jet on final for the 22s at JFK onto a house in Floral Park.

[hiss srq]

About once a year we get a body in Long Beach generally. I am counting down to the next one. Hopefully not on my property nor the bay behind my house either.

[NYCMedic]

This sounds like someone trying to enter the cabin through the ladning gear area. How was he able to hang on from take off ?

Um... you know its impossible to enter the cabin via the landing gear, right?

Didn't Schwarzenegger do it on a DC-10 in Commando?

[PhilDernerJr]

Arnold did the opposite. He exited a plane through it, dropping out of the gear into a lake beyond the runway. I don't recall the aircraft type, however.

[Bellucciman]

It was a Western Airlines DC10. The lovely cable companies are showing Comando non-stop this month.

[uplander]

on the -60 we used to do that too. just sit on the mains and the next minute you're sitting behind the stick.

Hmm, that would mean the pilot would get wet on a rainy takoff/landing :)

All the stuff about squeezing in, getting crushed, falling legs... If they survived any of that, they would certainly freeze to death.