Free Republic

TOKYO – A body was found inside a wheel well of a Delta Air Lines plane after it landed in Tokyo from New York, and Japanese authorities Monday were trying to identify the man. The body of the apparent stowaway was clad only in a long-sleeved, plaid shirt and jeans, police at Narita International Airport said. A mechanic found the body lying inside the landing gear compartment of the Boeing 777-200 during maintenance after Delta Flight 59 landed Sunday night, police official Zenjiro Watanabe said. "All we know is that he must have sneaked in just before departure, because it...

Dead man found in landing gear of US jet in Japan (AFP) – 2 hours ago TOKYO — Japanese authorities have found the body of a man in the landing gear of a Delta airliner that arrived in Tokyo from New York and said Monday they were seeking US help in identifying him. The man, who was of dark complexion and dressed only in blue jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, was carrying no passport or personal belongings.

Venomous redback spiders are on the march in Japan, where they are believed to have arrived years ago as stowaways on cargo ships, a wildlife expert has warned. The creepy-crawlies, named after their fiery markings, have infested the Osaka region and are drawing closer to the capital Tokyo, said Japan Wildlife Research Centre official Toshio Kishimoto. A dozen people have reportedly been bitten in Osaka prefecture alone, media reports say, including a six-year-old boy who was treated with antivenom in June, the first time the medication had been used in the country. "Their poison is strong and they are particularly...

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — China the cat got her name after being delivered in a crate holding motorcycle gear that a North Carolina man had ordered to be shipped from Shanghai. Eric Congdon opened the cargo freight that left port in China on April 3 and found the furry stowaway, which had chewed through one of the boxes. After at least 35 days on a ship, the cat was weak but still alive.

Man's Leg Falls Out Of Plane And Lands In N.Y. Backyard June 8, 2005 NEW YORK -- The body of an apparent stowaway was ripped in half during flight Tuesday and his leg crashed into a suburban neighborhood, where a homeowner found the severed limb in the middle of her lawn, authorities said. Pam Hearne heard "a loud crash" and later was stunned to see a foot clad in an Adidas sneaker and a sock in her yard, said Officer Thomas Blanchard. The leg, with hip and spine attached, dented the shingled roof of her garage before bouncing into the...

NEW YORK -- A body part apparently fell from the wheel well of a plane coming in for a landing on Tuesday at John F. Kennedy Airport and landed in a suburban backyard, authorities said. More remains were found on a South African Airways flight after it landed at Kennedy, said Tony Ciavolella, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Police suspect the remains were that of a male stowaway, the spokesman said. He would not confirm that the incidents at the airport and Long Island were related, saying, "It's still under investigation." Messages left...

A baggage handler who inadvertently hitched a ride on a flight out of LaGuardia Thursday has prompted questions about whether security is dozing off at area airports. The Transportation Security Administration says a Service Air baggage handler at LaGuardia fell asleep in an empty cargo bin on a Spirit Air plane before takeoff Thursday. Now police and the TSA want answers about how the stowaway made it all the way to Detroit without being detected. FAA policy requires every bin on planes to be checked before takeoff.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Inspectors checking a car smuggler at the U.S. Mexican border found a girl hiding inside a piñata. They say they've seen all kinds of attempts to smuggle people into the country, but this was an odd case. Vince Bond of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says officers at the Tecate Port of Entry found the girl when they removed several piñatas from the car and one seemed much heavier than the others. The girl -- who's about 4 or 5 years old -- was meticulously sealed inside but she was able to breathe. The girl's...

ROMULUS, Mich. -- A man's body was found early Friday in the wheel well of an American Airlines jet from Miami landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The body was found about 1 a.m. by an airport worker after passengers had disembarked. The man's identity and cause of death were not immediately known. A message left for an airport spokesman was not immediately returned Friday. People have attempted to stow away on flights in the wheel wells of airliners, a practice made particularly dangerous by severe temperature and pressure conditions.

Terrorists may try using stowaways and shoulder-launched missiles to bring down airplanes, a senior Singapore official warned today. "Given the iconic status enjoyed by airports and airlines, it is paramount that all players in the global aviation industry continue to remain vigilant," the city-state's second minister for transport Balaji Sadasivan told an aviation security conference. Besides stowaways carrying explosives or weapons, or shoulder-fired missiles, Mr Sadasivan said terrorists could send a bomb by cargo. He called for increased co-operation between aviation authorities to combat such threats. Singapore, a staunch US ally, has placed air marshals on national carrier Singapore...

Dominican Took Stowaway Flight to Miami in Wheel Well of Jet Mar 5, 2004 The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - A stowaway from the Dominican Republic was discovered emerging from the wheel well of a commercial passenger jet Friday after it landed at Miami International Airport, officials said. The migrant, whose name was not released, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection for processing for repatriation, immigration officials said. He was not injured. A ramp employee notified customs workers after seeing the man climb out of the right wheel well of the American Airlines flight from Santo Domingo,...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two Davidson College students were caught Sunday night trying to get a free bus ride from Charlotte to Vermont, police said. Daniel Schwartz, 20, and his girlfriend, 19-year-old Mary Sawyer, did not have the $240 needed for a second bus ticket from Charlotte to South Hero, Vt., where Schwartz’s parents live. So they improvised, police said, by squeezing Sawyer into an oversized athletic bag that Schwartz carried on. “It was a unique idea,” said Sgt. J.T. Williams of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. “A duffel bag is the only thing that I can really think they could...

PRIOR TO Sept. 11, 2001, stories about stowaways holed up inside the landing gear compartments of jet airliners were good fodder for "That's Incredible" or "News of the Weird." But these days they don't raise eyebrows so much as furrow them. It's no longer about the incredible risks some people take, but rather the vulnerability of commercial aircraft to sabotage. Twice in less than a week in late December, police at New York's Kennedy International Airport discovered bodies in the wheel wells of arriving jets. One was a British Airways flight from London's Heathrow Airport, the other an American Airlines...

NEW YORK — An autopsy performed on the body of a man found in the wheel well of a plane that landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport from London's Heathrow Airport was inconclusive, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. The man, believed to be in his 30s, remained unidentified — no identification was found on his body. Port Authority police found the body on British Airways Flight 177 after the aircraft landed at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. John Lampl, a British Airways spokesman, said Wednesday that company officials...

<p>NEW YORK  — The body of a man was found in the wheel well of a plane that landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport (search) from London's Heathrow Airport (search), authorities said.</p> <p>Port Authority police found the body of a man believed to be in his 30s on British Airways (search) Flight 177 after the plane landed at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For the second time in a week, an apparent stowaway was found dead in a wheel well of a passenger jet that landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, raising airport security concerns, officials said on Wednesday. The body of a man believed to be in his 30s was discovered on Tuesday night during a maintenance inspection of British Airways flight 177 from London's Heathrow Airport, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. On Christmas Eve, JFK airport maintenance crews found the body of a stowaway in a...

New York (dpa) - A man's body was discovered in the undercarriage of a British Airways plane after it landed in New York from London Wednesday. It is suspected that the man, a 30-year-old African, may have hidden himself in the undercarriage of the aircraft on Christmas Eve when the plane was in Lagos airport in Nigeria, television news channel CNN reported. According to U.S. security officials the man may have died on the flight to London. The first officer of the British aircraft found the body shortly after landing the Boeing 747 in Kennedy Airport. During a routine inspection...

More to follow

NEW YORK Dec. 25 — A man was found dead inside the wheel well of a passenger jet that arrived in New York on Christmas Eve from Jamaica, officials said. Maintenance crews discovered the body late Wednesday, several hours after American Airlines flight 1190 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, said Dan Maynard, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The flight had originated in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The man was about 25 years old but his identity had not been determined, Maynard said Thursday. It was not known whether the man boarded the...

HEADLINE: Stowaway: 'This was my own plan'; Crate rider's statement to FBI contradicts his story to police, media SOURCE: Dallas Morning News BYLINE: DAVE LEVINTHAL BODY: The man who shipped himself from New York City to Dallas inside an air cargo crate repeatedly lied to police and media outlets about his bizarre journey during which he eluded security at five airports, according to documents obtained Friday. Charles D. McKinley originally told DeSoto police and media that he first flew Sept. 5 to Kentucky aboard a passenger airline and was duped by an accomplice into sealing himself in a crate. He...