Body found in landing gear of plane at Istanbul Airport

ISTANBUL

A lifeless body has been found in the landing gear of a Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft at Istanbul Airport after an Amsterdam- Istanbul flight, prompting authorities to scrutinize the plane’s recent flights to African countries due to its estimated nationality.

THY’s Airbus A330 type plane with TC-JO arrived in Istanbul from Amsterdam at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 14. During technical maintenance work following landing at the airport, the lifeless body of a stowaway passenger was found in the landing gear of the plane.

Officials estimated that the body belonged to an African man aged between 30 and 40, but his identity could not be definitively determined.

A comprehensive investigation has been launched into the incident as security cameras of the last two days at Istanbul Airport were thoroughly reviewed. The body has been sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for identification.

The local media reported that the aircraft, with the body found in the landing gear, flew from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, to Banjul, the capital of Gambia, on Sept. 10.

On Sept. 11, it had flown from Gabon’s capital Libreville to Angola’s capital Luanda.

Authorities are currently focusing on the possibility that the stowaway passenger boarded the plane at one of these points.