Heathrow Airport launches security probe after body found in BA jet

13 April 2012

A major security probe was launched at Heathrow Airport last night after the body of a 17-year-old stowaway was discovered in the wheel well of a British Airways jet when it landed in Los Angeles.

The black South African teenager died from extreme cold and lack of oxygen and there is no suggestion he had anything more sinister in mind than sneaking into America.

But furious aviation chiefs fear the security breach could have been exploited by terrorists at a time when both Britain and the US are on high alert.

British Airways said yesterday that it was still trying to determine whether the youth climbed into the undercarriage of the 747-400 jet in London or its previous departure point of Hong Kong.

But even if the stowaway began his journey in the Far East, investigators will want to know why the body went undetected during the layover in London.

"Clearly, if a person managed to get on a transatlantic plane without anyone knowing about it, then a terrorist could do the same thing with disastrous results," said one officer at Los Angeles International Airport.

"The full circumstances are being investigated in London and Los Angeles."

The frozen corpse was discovered by a BA pilot during a routine pre-flight check at about 4.30pm on Sunday. Flight 283 had arrived from London at 3.15pm and was due to return to Heathrow at 5.20pm.

British Airways said last night that it is "co-operating fully" with the probe, but a spokesman added: "We are not going to speculate around the circumstances as that is the subject of the investigation."

The same plane had also previously flown to Singapore and Vancouver, Canada, during the last month.

"The investigation needs to run its course to determine where and how the victim obtained access to the aircraft before it landed in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon," said Paul Haney, the California airport's executive director of security.

The coroner's office in Los Angeles planned to carry out an autopsy today and was trying to contact the youth's family with the help of the South African Embassy in Washington.

There have been several incidents in recent years of people climbing into airplane wheel wells, almost always resulting in death.

The cold and lack of oxygen during flights at 37,000 feet make chances of survival slim.

Stowaways have also fallen from the compartment or been crushed by the landing gear.

The body of a man was found on a flight that landed in Atlanta from Senegal on January 12.

But some have beaten the odds.

A man survived the flight from Tahiti to Los Angeles in 2000, although when he was discovered his temperature was way below what have normally been fatal.

A Cuban made it alive to Montreal, Canada, in a wheel well four years ago and an 18-year-old from Senegal arrived safely in France after a five-hour flight, only to die when he tried to stow away on another flight later that year.

Many hail from impoverished countries and risk all in the hope of finding better lives in the US or Europe.

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