Body Found In United Airlines Boeing 787 Wheel Well After Landing At Maui Kahului Airport

A tragic incident unfolded at Maui’s Kahului Airport on Christmas Eve, when the body of an unidentified man was discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines
aircraft, according to Hawaii News Now. The Boeing 787-10
, which had arrived from Chicago, landed safely in Hawaii
before the grim discovery was made.

Photo: Joe Kunzler I Simple Flying

Details remain unclear

On the morning of December 24, United Airlines flight UA202 took off from Chicago O’Hare International Airport
. Following an earlier flight from São Paulo, Brazil, it headed to Maui with a planned stop in kahului
. The airline stated that a body was discovered in the wheel well of one of the aircraft’s main landing gears when it arrived in Maui.

United Airlines shared the following statement with Simple Flying:

“Upon arrival at Kahului airport in Maui on Tuesday, a body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on a United aircraft. United is working with law enforcement authorities on the investigation.”

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

According to United Airlines, the wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft. At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the wheel well. Details surrounding the circumstances of the death remain unclear. Additional information, including the identity of the deceased and the cause of death, has not been released.

Maui Police are Investigating

The Maui Police Department is actively investigating the incident. According to Hawaii News Now, the Maui Police Department said in a statement:

“The Maui Police Department is currently conducting an active investigation regarding a deceased individual discovered on an incoming flight from the mainland this afternoon. At this time, no further details are available.”

More about Flight UA202

According to Flightradar24 and FlightAware, United Airlines flight UA202 departed from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) at 09:31 local time on December 24. The Boeing 787-10, registered as N12010, arrived at Kahului Airport (OGG) in Maui at 14:12 local time, 34 minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival. The aircraft was originally scheduled for the return flight UA203 from Maui later that afternoon, but the flight was canceled following the incident, data on Flightradar24 shows.

While the identity of the deceased is yet to be confirmed, CNN reported that the scenario strongly suggests that the man may have been attempting to stow away on the flight. Stowaway
in the wheel well is one of the most dangerous methods people use to try to hitch a ride aboard an aircraft. It is a known but perilous form of illegal travel, and stowaways often face extreme conditions during their journey.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying

Stowaway risk: The deadly danger of hiding in aircraft wheel wells

The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) reports that over 77% of those who try to stow away in an airplane’s wheel well do not make it out alive. As the aircraft rises to cruising altitude, the wheel well—which is intended to hold the landing gear—offers very limited room and is exposed to severe circumstances.

In the past, stowaways who have tried such expeditions have encountered nearly insurmountable obstacles. The causes of this high death rate are obvious: oxygen levels are dangerously low at high elevations, and wheel wells provide little shelter from extremely high or low temperatures. Stowaways frequently experience hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and hypothermia, which can result in unconsciousness or even death.

Related

Why Stowaways Hiding In Airplane Landing Gear Rarely Survive

A man recently attempted to fly unnoticed between Algeria and France.

However, there have been a few remarkable exceptions. The New York Times reported that a 22-year-old man from Kenya was discovered alive in the front wheel section of a cargo jet in January 2022, following an 11-hour journey from Johannesburg to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
, which is close to Amsterdam. According to Dutch military police, the individual was found under the aircraft’s nose wheel when it arrived at Schiphol and was immediately sent to the hospital. The man made it through the trip despite the intense cold at high elevations.

A similar case occurred in 2021, when a stowaway hidden in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines jet survived a flight from his home country of Guatemala to Miami.