Body found in landing gear bay on BA B744 @ LAX
 

A terrible way to die -

It would be highly unlikely that the stowaway came on at Heathrow so he could have been in there a while!!
Lucky it didn't drop out when the gear came down!

.....Authorities said the youth was black and had documents identifying him as a South African national born in 1989.....

So logically he's been into and out of EGLL at least once. Could one not reasonably ask why he was not detected there? :eek:

But indeed, not a good way to go.

That's happened too....
Sorry, no link, but not very long ago a body was found in a field under the LHR approach path. Almost certainly fell out when the gear was lowered.

Poor desperate people.....

The LAX flights depart from LHR Terminal 1, as do those to JNB, NRT and HKG. Most of the time the aircraft will carry out rotations from T1; so an ealry morning arrival from HKG or JNB will be scheduled out to NRT or LAX.

I would therefore not be surprised if the unfortunate young man originated in JNB.

We had a spate of these at LGW a few years ago - 3 in fact, do things really go in threes?

2 were dangling from noselegs - bad enough for me who had to attend but worst I think for the ground crew meeting the aircraft to be confronted with the body as the a/c taxies on to stand. The 3rd was found on the runway, obviously falling out as the gear doors recycled on departure. Particularly rotten for our staff who only had it reported to them as debris on the runway. It was even worse as it was Christmas Day.

The one that got to me was a 12-yr old boy from Nairobi; having young children myeslf. A Police Inspector from Gatwick went out to Nairobi to try and get information and ensure the next-of-kin were informed but was given no help at all from the Kenyan authorities; just another death amongst so many, it seems.

There needs to be a world-wide education campaign telling everyone that this doesn't work; you will die, most probably from being crushed as the gear retracts. There looks to be heaps of room with the gear down but it all disappears on retraction. If that doesn't get you, hypoxia and hypothermia will.

TheOddOne

I remember the Gatwick one on Christmas Day 2000, OddOne.

Departing BA 777 on 08R. Aircraft had earlier come in from Africa. He had not been spotted on the turnround at LGW. Took some time before he was moved from 26L threshold. I suppose Coroners are difficult to get hold of on Christmas morning.

On Africa night departures I always leave all the taxi/exit lights on in order to have a fighting chance of spotting them if they run out.They are most likely to give it a go as you are sat at the holding point for departure.

Very, very sad.

Lack of Knowledge of MWW Clearences,Retracting Gears & Pressurisation requirements a cause here.
Sad Case.
I've seen Birds in MWWs on Arrival.Hoping never to notice a case like this ever.
regds
MEL

while this is certainly a sad situation, the bigger question is:

how bad is security and preflight inspections that people have access to the plane...this person could have easily put a bomb onboard as himself.

does anyone else remember world airways evacuating Vietnam and people hanging from the landing gear...the pilots wisely kept it extended and flew low and slow.

I take it you don't fly to Africa often? Plenty of places for the stowaway to get through the perimeter fence and run to the aircraft.

My point exactly, but also - assuming the unfortunate individual had got himself into the wheel well at an out-station, how was he not detected when the a/c got back to base?

It's not only the getting through the perimeter fence I'm asking about, but also the checks at subsequent stations. By all concerned.

It rather depends where the body is. The 744 wheel well is very big, can be very dark and much of it is not visible from the ground. Easy to miss something.

But if the aircraft then transited LHR en-route to LAX, does this not imply that a thorough external pre-flight check was not carried out? Surely, both the PF and the ground crew perform a walkround prior to each and every departure?
Obviously I have never flown anything as big as a 744, so perhaps there are hiding places 'out-of-sight' in the gear bay?
Nasty way to go though. :uhoh:

EDITED as I see others were answering the same question I was in the process of posting.

People do try and stow away at Heathrow.

I remember working when a BA 747 was lined up on the threshold of 27L about to go, and another a/c waiting at the hold came on frequency warning of a man who had scaled the perimeter fence by Hatton Cross and was sprinting towards the 747. The man disappeared up into the nosewheel bay.

Eventually he was apprehended by a combined Police and Airport Ops rugby scrum!

In all probability a thorough pre flight inspection was carried out at LHR prior to departure by engineering/flight crew and indeed at the down route stations that the aircraft previously visited. The fact that a stowaway remained undetected does not mean these checks were actioned without due care. On most large passenger aircraft, with the exception of the B737, it is simply not possible to see into the wheel wells from ground level with the gear doors closed. Even with access steps positioned your view is still limited in many cases. The only sure way to see is to open the gear doors and this is not usually a routine requirement on pre flight/transit checks.

Therefore, a procedure whereby the gear bay doors are cycled should perhaps be considered? Or is this an impractical proposition? Could it, at the very least, be done on a regular basis when flights return to home base from places where stowaways have historically originated from?

A former ******** 747 skipper of my acquiantance, departing out of somewhere in Africa, received a message from ATC warning him of a possible stowaway, requesting he returned. As they'd been in the cruise for more than 1 hour, and was somewhere off the west coast of Africa, he found it impossible that the stowaway, if indeed onboard, would still be alive. So he reduced to max gear speed, cycled the gear, and continued on his way. Well, we were both drunk when he told the story, so could very well have been telling porkies. But what would you do in similar circumstances?

Well I certainly wouldn't have considered the option of commiting murder by dropping the poor bugger out of the gear bay.

On the assumption that this young man did not originate in London, he had already remained in situ through at least one gear cycling event, so on that basis probably not worth cycling the gear in flight (to say nothing about the noise and upset it would cause the pax).

Best course of action, imho, would be to notify the authorities through company. They may then wish to send up a helicopter to observe the gear lowering on arrival, they may even have it done over an open area rather than on approach at 2000ft in case a body drops out.

The B744 MWW is massive.Also during transit checks the MLG doors arer retacted.100% of the MWW inside is not visable.A person can hide out there & yet not be noticed by Grd staff.
regds
MEL

FAA time...
 

given the FAAs massive over-reaction to the 3 engine BA 744 at LAX, I wonder whether the pencil pushers are licking their lips at the thought of having another go. I bet they'll peek at the wheel well's of some 2 engine Boeing products, and if this seems like a solely 744 issue then they'll be pushing for extensive wheel well checks with stepladders and all at every stop......

nothing like helping the local team...

S

A friend visited Cuba a couple of years ago. The crew made mention of the 4 x 4 that parked nearby to observe the aircraft's taxi and departure - so that no stowaways could make a run for it.

Gatwick Xmas 2003 incident

The 777 had come in from Cuba. Notes found there showed the 2 stowaways intended to get to Florida; they probably chose the wrong aircraft.

It appeared from investigations that the stowaways had been hiding in long grass, avoided the security vehicle's lights (night departure) and climbed up the gear leg into the wheel-bay after it left the holding point and was turning slowly onto the runway - all under the eyes of two airport security guards whose job it was to make sure that didn't happen, or to stop the take-off if necessary.
As the pros will know, a 777’s wheel-bay doors open during gear operation and then close again with the gear down leaving a small gap around the leg – big enough for agile youngsters to use. Presumably, they lodged themselves securely in the wheel-well so they wouldn’t fall out when the doors opened to retract the gear.

BA had its own security around the aircraft the entire time it was at the gate from landing to departure, in addition to what the airport describes as its security. BA had repeatedly complained about airport security and, in particular, holes in the perimeter fence. BA's request to have its own vehicle/personnel follow the aircraft from the gate had been refused, but the airport arranged for a security vehicle to do so and to wait at the holding point until it departed.

If I recall correctly, the first body fell out on approach to LGW. It was thought that the second body defrosted and dislodged while the aircraft was at LGW overnight and fell into the bottom of the ‘U’ shape made by the closed doors. It wouldn't be visible during external checks.
It fell out when the gear was raised after take-off for Mexico the next day.

It is impossible to see down into the wheel-well from the ground. I checked during the course of preparing for the Inquest.

In theory, the doors could be cycled on the ground but that has its own risks. Doing so at an airport where there is no engineering support in the event of a problem during recycling isn’t a practical option.

Well, the simple answer then is to get some engineering support. Get the job done properly as some airlines already do.
EG USAIR A330. All landing gear doors are extended each layover check for a thorough inspection. No risk as long as you have engineering personel (who know what they're doing) to carry out and certify the task.
The 747 body gear bay, by the way, is clearly visible with a good torch and an average size person standing on the wheel rim. The wing gear is another story.:ok:

Why not post lighted stickers in several languages in the well stating "you will die from suffocation and freezing or crush injury if you remain here after takeoff" in this area in a few locations?

I'm not trying to be silly, this is very sad.

Pax speaking
Turin As I understand it, these problems have occurred after a turn-around, not a layover? That is, interpreting 'layover' as being one that involves very specific engineering checks when the a/c is at a base, rather than a two or three hour turn down line, such as JNB or NBO.

PA. You think that the stowaway will be able to read and that, even if they can, having got that far they are going to jump out again?

galacticosh As a Probationary PPRuNer, you should either learn some manners or you are being deliberately stupid.

A bit like the way they do it on cigarette packets, you mean?

Not being silly, or sarcastic, but I've no doubt it would have the same effect.

I agree, very sad.

You would think that perhaps they could modify the design of the well so that it is somehow 'filled' when the wheels are down (be it an inflatable bladder, a flap, plunger - it could even be a cheap disposable system that is changed per flight) . Another idea may be to put a simple sensor in the well to detect the presence of a person or object (microswitches, PIR, strain gauges).

It's a terrible sad event, and the more that can be done to prevent it would be welcomed.

As I recall, the last time this subject was discussed in PPRuNe, there were suggestions of mini cameras and lights in the wheel wells. All of that will bring these questions from the operator: Who will pay? (and) Whose fault is it if people break through security fences and climb inside our a/c?

Getting information back to the countries where they try their luck is needed. With photographs of what they look like at the other end.

I hate to be cynical, but....
These people mostly can't read....
Stickers in the wheel well would be too dark to see, and would be ignored.
Photos? These people don't read newspapers.
Put photos up at the airports, and on the fences? They would be torn down in no time by the intermediaries in this business, and by the security guards, that are getting paid for looking the other way, knowing full well there will never be any come-back from their clients.
I wish I had an answer.... barbed wire? Anti-bird netting in the wheel well? A campaign with leaflets in the right places with two photos... "don't try this" / "or you'll end up like this" ?
And to be pragmatic...
Hundreds die in small boats trying to get to the Canaries, or across the Mediterranean.
Let's put our efforts in trying to solve that first......

Perhaps you may recall another stowaway incident at LAX. It had occurred on an inbound Air Pacific 744 flight from Fiji just a few years ago. The ground crew were in shock as they witnessed the lucky stowaway climb out of the left main body gear well, and sprint away across the tarmac. Though he was captured, it is still a mystery on how he had survived the 11 hr trans Pacific flight!

It was theorized that he had stayed warm while huddled to the pac ducting, and that also perhaps the airtight gear door seals had saved him.

Tigger!
This is demented! Are you seriously believing any of this garbage is even worth considering? 'Inflatable bladders'? If you don't know what a wheel well looks like, keep out of this discussion! 'Flap'? What, like an undercarriage door? 'Plunger'? What sort of 'plunger'? Like for cleaning toilets? A 'cheap disposable system that is changed per flight'. Do us a favour........zip it!

Contrary to popular belief this is not that uncommon!

I have personally been involved with 2 incidents, one hopeful in a B747 WW & another in an A300.
the former being MH747 from Kuala Lumpur arriving in JNB & latter EK from JNB/Comoros arriving in DXB!
The second idiot apparently did a few sectors as well, prior to discovery!!!
Hence the now present procedure to open landing gear doors for inspection on every Daily check, however only on the airbus 330 & 310:ugh: as some people still believe this cannot occur on a B777 or A340!!!

HAWK21- one can practically see the entire areas of the B747 wheel wells from the ground with a flashlight or the lights switched on, by standing inboard of the aft body gears axles looking forward, especially where one "in the know" could easily position himself to be clear of the gears coming in! However, there is the temperature penalty & then the loss of oxygen so ones chances in any flight greater than 30mins are zero!
If you're really short it would require a jump or two or standing on the wheel rim!
I take particular time to inspect wheel wells especially of flights from certain parts of the world, looking for stowaway hopefuls, or whats left of them!
The damage to aircraft parts or systems would be my priority.

PA- I like your sense of humour!
Reminds me of the decal on the B777 #2 cockpit window, which alerts flying crew to the fact that his window is open when slid back!!!

Tigggermoth- You have to be kidding Man?
Aircraft are designed for minimum weight & for the operation of "reasonably intelligent" individuals. Idiots or the ignorant who get too close to them are only putting their lives & others around them in grave danger.

Paxboy- in full agreement. Pictures of blood & guts & dismembered bodies hanging out of wheel wells, displayed around airports in these 3rd world outfits would be the only effective solution.

I cant say I find this at all SAD, other than the stupidity of the individual involved! And then there's the Movies...... Sorry!

easyduzzit,
It's not really "idiocy" or "stupidity".....
Ignorance, yes... despair, yes.

I think the incident reported at the end of the LA Time's coverage of the incident says a great deal about the state of mind of those who try...

Rainboe,

Are you not being a tad unkind about these poor individuals?

It is their ignorance of aircraft and most likely $$$ to the local ‘security’ staff that is killing them, but garbage!

Well , at least thats one less individual on welfare that my taxes go to.Or perhaps he landed at LHR,looked out and saw it was more third world than were he had come from and decided to continue his journey! Will l have to bring a stepladder to work as well as a torch to inspect the wheelwell bays? Wont that be construed as tradesmans tools and banned from taking it through security?

Can just see it.....pre-departure inspection, just prior to push back (or why not on the threshold).....release landing gear doors to inspect bays.....oh dear forgot the 747 doors hit the ground when the aircraft is fueled....oh well back to the ramp for new doors....
If the silly bu....rs want to stow away thats their risk...what ever you do they will try....at least we didn't get sadled with another freeloading imigrant for the tax payers to support....

NWT,

My thinking is more what someone could carry in.

There are, unfortunately, some who consider that dying for a cause is the way to go and so might see this as something to exploit. For them, the outcome is the same; it's what they might carry with them, which concerns me. :eek:

Just a point, but every time I've looked in the body landing gear well, it was brightly lit :confused:

But there's no point in the sticker idea. If people want to stow away, they'll do it anyway.