The wheel well area would have been exposed to mid-flight temps as low as minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Maui police are investigating an unsettling discovery made on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Hawaii this week. Upon landing at Kahului Airport on Tuesday, airline staff found a deceased individual in the wheel well of the plane‘s main landing gear. United Airlines and the Maui Police Department confirmed the grim news in statements released Wednesday, December 25.
The flight, United Airlines 202, was operated by a Boeing 787-10. The incident raises questions about how someone could have accessed the wheel well. It’s a compartment that can only be reached from outside the plane, United Airlines says.
Neither United Airlines nor the Maui Police Department provided additional details about the identity of the individual or the circumstances leading to the discovery. The Maui Police Department is conducting an active investigation. Kahului Airport referred inquiries to the state Department of Transportation, but a spokesperson confirmed they had no further information to share, says the Associated Press.
Commercial aircraft like the Boeing 787-10 have main landing gear designed to retract into tight, confined spaces. These areas are exposed to severe conditions during flight. Temperatures in the wheel well can plunge to as low as -65°F at cruising altitudes, causing severe hypothermia or death. The lack of oxygen in these unpressurized compartments can lead to unconsciousness within minutes.
So how could someone end up there? In some cases, stowaways seeking a way to travel undetected climb into the wheel well before the plane departs. Others speculate foul play, where a body may have been placed in the compartment intentionally. Security breaches allowing access to restricted areas are rare but possible, particularly in larger, busy airports.
