Stowaway found frozen to death in plane landing gear at Gatwick Airport

A mystery stowaway was found frozen to death inside the wheel compartment of a plane at Gatwick Airport, an inquest has heard.

The unidentified man was found concealed in the landing gear of the Air Arabia plane that had arrived from Morocco, in June.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be cardiac arrest, followed by hypoxia and hypothermia.

West Sussex Brighton and Hove Area Coroner Joseph Turner noted that conditions inside the wheel compartment would have been extremely cold.

He added there would have been a lack of oxygen, as he formally opened the inquest on the basis he had ‘reason to believe this death was unnatural’.

The man was found by a ground engineer who spotted a packing strap hanging out of the wheel compartment.

The Air Arabia flight had arrived from Tangiers.

At the time of the incident, a London Gatwick spokesperson said: ‘London Gatwick’s emergency services attended an Air Arabia aircraft just after 11.30am on Tuesday June 16, 2026, when an incident was identified upon arrival.

‘As Sussex Police have confirmed, a body was found. Our teams subsequently supported Sussex Police and the coroner. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.’

The inquest has been adjourned until February 24, 2027.

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