Man found dead in Morocco-London flight landing gear died from cold, lack of oxygen

A man whose body was found in the landing gear compartment of an Air Arabia flight from Tangier to London died from a combination of extreme cold and oxygen deprivation, a British inquest heard Tuesday.

The man’s identity remains unknown more than two months after his body was discovered at London Gatwick Airport on June 16.

Coroner Joseph Turner opened the inquest at Horsham Coroner’s Court in West Sussex after receiving the findings of a post-mortem examination.

The examination found that the man suffered cardiac arrest associated with hypoxia, or insufficient oxygen, and hypothermia.

Turner said conditions inside an aircraft’s landing gear compartment would have been extremely cold, while oxygen levels would have fallen significantly during the flight. He said there was sufficient evidence to classify the death as “unnatural.”

The body was discovered shortly after the Air Arabia aircraft arrived at Gatwick from Tangier. A ground engineer found the man during routine checks and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency services were called to the aircraft shortly after 11:30 a.m. on June 16. Sussex Police and the coroner’s office subsequently began working with airport authorities to establish the circumstances of the death.

Despite the investigation, British authorities have so far been unable to determine the man’s name, age or nationality.

Investigators are examining how he could have entered the landing gear compartment before the aircraft departed Tangier. Authorities have not disclosed where he boarded the aircraft or how he gained access to the compartment.

Sussex Police, airport authorities and the coroner’s office are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.

The case is not the first involving a person attempting to travel in the landing gear of an aircraft connected to Morocco. In 2019, a Guinean man was found dead after reportedly surviving a journey of about 3,800 kilometers in the landing gear of a Royal Air Maroc aircraft.

The inquest was adjourned until Feb. 24, 2027. The next hearing is expected to focus on identifying the man and determining how he entered the aircraft and reached the landing gear compartment.