Woman from Switzerland held key clue in mystery of stowaway who fell from Heathrow plane

 
E-fit: A police image of the man who fell from a Heathrow-bound plane
Lindsay Watling26 April 2013

A stowaway trying to enter Britain plunged to his death from the undercarriage of a plane en route to Heathrow on his 26th birthday, an inquest heard today.

The body of Jose Matada, also known as Youssuf, was found in Portman Avenue, Mortlake, on September 9 last year, 10 miles from the airport.

But the Mozambican, whose next of kin have not yet been informed of his death, was identified only this month after a complex police inquiry.

Detectives analysed a SIM card found in his jeans and contacted the numbers stored on it. They originally thought Mr Matada was Angolan. But today, Detective Sergeant Jeremy Allsup told West London Coroners’ Court that officers found text messages to a number on the SIM.

They discovered it belonged to a woman, identified in court only as Ms Hunt, who was living in Switzerland but had previously employed Mr Matada as a housekeeper in South Africa. Mr Allsup told the court: “She said ‘I know this man’ and identified him as Jose Matada.”

Mr Matada is believed to have hidden in the landing gear of a BA flight from Luanda. Home Office pathologist Dr Robert Chapman said: “In my view, this man was either very close to the point of death [before he fell] or died when he struck the ground.”

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