Stowaway found dead in landing gear of American Airlines plane in Charlotte

American Airlines planes sit at gate at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. (Daniel Slim/AFP/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, are investigating the death of a stowaway found Sunday morning inside the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight.

The plane had recently arrived in Charlotte from Europe, and was undergoing maintenance when the body was discovered, according to a statement from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

The individual, whose identity and origin remain unknown, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

An American Airlines spokesperson told CNN affiliate WSOC that the airline is working with law enforcement.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport said in a statement it was aware of the “tragic discovery.”

“We are deeply saddened by this news and will support Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) investigation as needed,” it said, adding that airport operations continue as normal.

CNN has reached out to American Airlines, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office for more information.

While extremely dangerous, hiding in a plane’s wheel well is the most common method used by stowaways in their sought-after journeys.

More than 77% of people who have attempted to stow away on aircraft have died, the Federal Aviation Administration said in 2019.

Sunday’s incident is the latest in a series of stowaways discovered in recent years, raising concerns over airline security.

A little more than a week ago, a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan was found wandering a tarmac in India after hiding in the landing gear of a plane that had traveled roughly 90 minutes from Kabul to Delhi. He was later repatriated to Afghanistan the same day.

In January, two people were found dead in the wheel well of a JetBlue flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. The discovery came two weeks after a body was found in the wheel bay of a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Maui.