A body was discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines Boeing 787-10 aircraft after landing at Kahului Airport in Maui, Hawaii, on December 24, 2024. The flight, United Airlines 202, had departed from Chicago (Illinois) O’Hare International Airport earlier that day.
The body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears after the plane touched down at approximately 2:12 PM local time. “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,” United Airlines said.
Before its Chicago departure, the aircraft had completed a flight from São Paulo, Brazil, with approximately a 4.5-hour layover at O’Hare International Airport. The identity of the person found in the wheel well remains undisclosed by authorities.
“United is working with law enforcement authorities on the investigation,” the company stated, adding that they are cooperating fully with local and federal investigators to determine how security was breached. The Maui Police Department is currently conducting an active investigation regarding a deceased individual discovered on an incoming flight but did not release any other details.
Statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration reveal that attempting to stowaway in aircraft wheel wells has proven lethal for more than three-quarters of those who have tried. Those who hide in these confined spaces face multiple life-threatening conditions: they risk being crushed by retracting landing gear in spaces often smaller than a car’s trunk, struggle with oxygen deprivation at high altitudes, and endure extreme temperatures that can plummet to minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit during flight, leading to hypothermia and frostbite.
Recent documented cases of wheel well stowaways reveal both survivors and fatalities. In January 2022, ground crews found a living stowaway in the wheel section beneath the front of a Cargolux freight plane after it arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport from Africa.
After hiding by the landing gear, a 26-year-old man survived a 2.5-hour flight from Guatemala to Miami in 2021.
In 2019, a stowaway perished during a nine-hour Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to London Heathrow Airport, falling into a residential garden in Clapham as the plane approached for landing.
Aviation security experts point to economic hardship and political instability as common factors in landing gear bay stowaway attempts. Such incidents frequently involve individuals from regions experiencing significant social and economic challenges, and continue to occur despite increased airport security measures worldwide.
The discovery did not disrupt regular operations at Kahului Airport. The Boeing 787-10 underwent a detailed inspection before returning to service. This holiday season has seen record-breaking travel numbers, with nearly 120 million people expected to travel away from home. The Transportation Security Administration reported over 2.3 million passengers screened at U.S. airports on December 24, 2024.
