A routine arrival at Gatwick Airport turned into a grim discovery when ground crews found the body of a man hidden inside the landing gear compartment of a passenger aircraft that had flown from Morocco to London.
The body was discovered shortly after the Air Arabia Maroc flight from Tangier touched down at Gatwick on Tuesday morning. Police believe the man had concealed himself in the aircraft’s wheel bay before departure and died during the journey.
The flight, identified by the airline as service 3O102, landed at around 11.30am. Airport emergency teams were called immediately after the discovery, while Sussex Police launched an investigation to establish the man’s identity and how he managed to gain access to the aircraft.
Air Arabia Maroc confirmed the incident and said all relevant authorities were notified as soon as the aircraft arrived. The airline said it is cooperating fully with investigators and expressed sympathy for everyone affected.
Sussex Police said officers are preparing a report for the coroner and are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.
The case has also raised fresh questions about airport security procedures. Aviation experts note that gaining access to an aircraft’s landing gear area requires breaching secure airport zones, prompting scrutiny over how the man was able to reach the plane undetected before take off.
According to aviation safety specialists and previous investigations by the International Air Transport Association and other industry bodies, stowaways who hide in landing gear compartments face almost impossible odds of survival. Temperatures at cruising altitude can plunge below minus 50 degrees Celsius, while oxygen levels drop dramatically. Many victims die from hypothermia, lack of oxygen, or injuries caused when landing gear retracts after take off.
The tragedy echoes several similar incidents involving flights arriving in Britain. In 2019, a stowaway fell from the landing gear of a Kenya Airways aircraft as it approached Heathrow Airport, landing in a residential garden in southwest London. Earlier cases have also involved individuals attempting long distance journeys in aircraft wheel bays from Africa to the United Kingdom.
