Deadly risks of stowaway flights highlighted after body found in field near Schiphol
Two weeks ago, on Oct. 16, a farmer discovered the body of a man in a field near Schiphol Airport who allegedly fell from an airplane, drawing renewed attention to the dangers of stowaways.
In the Netherlands, the marechaussee, or military police, encounter a stowaway in an aircraft’s about twice a year, a spokesperson told NU.nl. Stowaways hide on planes, often in the wheel well—the compartment where landing gear retracts—to avoid paying for a ticket.
There is usually some space left for a person to hide when the landing gear retracts, but accidents involving a person being crushed by the gear have also occurred in the past. Typically, the stowaways are only discovered after landing. At the end of September, CBS Miami reported a person was found dead inside a wheel well of an American Airlines plane in Charlotte, North Carolina, discovered during maintenance work.
Most do not survive the journey. Flying as a stowaway is extremely dangerous, without the protection of the cabin from extreme cold—temperatures can drop below minus 40 degrees—and the severe lack of oxygen at high altitude. Experts say a person is likely to pass out some time after the plane takes off. There is also the risk of falling just before landing, when the wheel well doors open as the landing gear extends.
However, it is reportedly far less common for someone to fall from a wheel well during the flight, as may have occurred recently over Abbenes.
Three witnesses contacted police after seeing something fall from the sky, and authorities are comparing their statements. So far, the accounts differ too much for the police to determine which plane the body came from. Identifying the aircraft could help establish the man’s identity. “The investigation is focused heavily on identification,” a spokesperson said.
The investigation is ongoing, but police say a fall from an aircraft remains the only scenario under consideration, a spokesperson confirmed following earlier reports from NH Nieuws.
Airlines do not have specific procedures to check landing gear for stowaways, a KLM spokesperson said, noting that pilots inspect the entire aircraft before each flight. Ground personnel can also spot stowaways and call in the military police if they do.
