Body found in wheel well on United flight from Chicago to Maui

Hmm. Aren't these usually folks fleeing from some distant land? Chicago to Hawaii doesn't seem to fit the mold. Could he have been stuck there from a prior flight?
 
dans2992 said:
Prior flight was Brazil to Chicago, so you might be right. Makes one wonder how “thoroughly” the walk around was conducted…. ;)
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Doubt they would have been seen on a normal walk around. Probably got found by a mechanic doing an ETOPS preflight, which is a bit more extensive than a normal walk around. Or the body started to thaw and there was something dripping that caught the attention of someone.
 
Not sure what FAA requirement requires a airline pilot to do a walkaround and to what extent is required other than to make sure the aircraft is airworthy. Just how many pilots would look for someone in the wheel well as part of their walkaround. As a passenger waiting to board a airliner watching the plane come in old crew gets off new crew gets on, I can't remember that I ever saw a pilot out their walking around the plane.
 
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brien23 said:
Not sure what FAA requirement requires a airline pilot to do a walkaround and to what extent is required other than to make sure the aircraft is airworthy. Just how many pilots would look for someone in the wheel well as part of their walkaround.
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You literally cannot see inside it without a big ladder or opening the wheel well, which is not a pilot function.
 

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brien23 said:
Not sure what FAA requirement requires a airline pilot to do a walkaround and to what extent is required other than to make sure the aircraft is airworthy. Just how many pilots would look for someone in the wheel well as part of their walkaround. As a passenger waiting to board a airliner watching the plane come in old crew gets off new crew gets on I can't remember ever saw a pilot out their walking around the plane.
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The flight crew and ground crews usually do a very basic walkaround. Make sure the wing isn't missing type of thing. Without ladders or other special equipment, there isn't much else the crew can do. Depending on where the stowaway's body was hidden, very likely it wouldn't have been noticed. Often you hear of stowaways falling out when the gear are lowered for landing.
 
Groundpounder said:
Doubt they would have been seen on a normal walk around. Probably got found by a mechanic doing an ETOPS preflight, which is a bit more extensive than a normal walk around. Or the body started to thaw and there was something dripping that caught the attention of someone.
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An ETOPS check would have been required prior to the Chicago to Hawaii leg.
 
unsafervguy said:
well, chicago is a third world country nowadays...................
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Urban Dictionary: Chiraq

Chiraq is a nickname given to Americas third largest city, Chicago. Chicago was given this nickname because there are more murders and violence that occur in Chicago than the war in Iraq. Walking the streets of Chicago is like walking in Iraq with all the murders, robbery, gang bangs, and acts...
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Lindberg said:
Hmm. Aren't these usually folks fleeing from some distant land? Chicago to Hawaii doesn't seem to fit the mold. Could he have been stuck there from a prior flight?
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It is sad what desperate people will do to flee from an impoverished, oppressive, third-world hole.
 
Groundpounder said:
Doubt they would have been seen on a normal walk around. Probably got found by a mechanic doing an ETOPS preflight, which is a bit more extensive than a normal walk around. Or the body started to thaw and there was something dripping that caught the attention of someone.
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While Rio to Chicano wouldn't have been in ETOPS land, going form ORD to OCG certainly would be.
 
Again, that depends on the embarkment nation. There are a number of nations in which we do significantly more thorough inspections for ships entering our ports than others due to that inconsistency. Some nations have a remarkably high occurrence of stowaways. Typically those same nations are known for inadequate security around their ports, if any at all.

Seems many, if not most people around the world don't realize that the air thins to the point of unconsciousness with altitude. To say nothing about the temperature. Then again, we have knuckleheads in our own nation who refer to themselves as "flat-earthers."
 
Dana said:
What blows my mind is that there are still people alive who are clever enough to sneak onto an airport and climb into the wheel well but still so stupid or ignorant that they don't know it will probably kill them.
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Very likely there is an airport employee involved. “Sure, for $$$ I can help you stow away on a plane to the US.” He likely knows it’s not survivable but couldn’t care less as long as he gets his money up front.
 
Well now I'm seeing reporting that the body was found in Maui.

So the ETOPS inspection missed it or it originated in ORD. Either way pretty bad.
 
Half Fast said:
Very likely there is an airport employee involved. “Sure, for $$$ I can help you stow away on a plane to the US.” He likely knows it’s not survivable but couldn’t care less as long as he gets his money up front.
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If you had an airport employee involved, you could at least got an upgrade to being thrown in with the luggage. At least that's pressurized.
 
I am sure someone at the FAA in thinking a change to part 121 to deal with this, and it will be overkill.
 
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