In a case that shocked the airport community, a man was found dead, frozen in the landing gear of a plane that landed at Gatwick Airport. The tragic incident, revealed in an inquiry hearing, concluded that the man, whose identity remains a mystery, succumbed to hypothermia.
The man’s body was discovered in the right wheel of a plane from Banjul, Gambia, which arrived at Gatwick’s north terminal at around 3:30 a.m. on December 7, 2022. The gruesome discovery occurred about half an hour after landing.
Wearing only a dark knit coat and tracksuit pants, without socks and wearing plastic sandals, the man had no form of identification. Despite international and national efforts, including a public appeal by Sussex Police, the man’s identity remains unknown.
A police report mentioned that the plane’s pilot conducted detailed checks of the aircraft before departure from Gambia, without noticing anything abnormal. The area was dark, making it difficult for ground teams to see.
Joanne Andrews, the coroner for the West Sussex area, concluded that the evidence suggests the man entered the aircraft before takeoff in Gambia. “It is sad that he has not been identified and that his family has not been informed,” said Andrews, adding that the man died of hypothermia with no clear evidence of how he boarded the plane.
Sussex Police released an e-fit image of the man, believed to be between 20 and 30 years old, and shared information with authorities in the African country.
The inquiry has been closed, but Andrews mentioned that it could be reopened if new information emerges. This case joins the mystery surrounding the body of a teenager who fell from a plane on the way to Heathrow and landed on train tracks in Richmond, London, in December 2020, whose identity also remains unknown over two years after the incident.
