Overview

• Maintenance staff discovered the individual around 9 a.m. Sunday during work on the aircraft at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and officers pronounced the person dead at the scene.
• Police said the jet had recently arrived from Europe and the discovery was made in the landing gear compartment.
• CMPD homicide detectives responded to American Airlines’ maintenance hangar and began collecting evidence as part of an active investigation.
• American Airlines said it is working with law enforcement, and authorities have not released an identity or cause of death.
• The incident follows several recent wheel-well stowaway cases in the U.S., prompting fresh scrutiny of airport perimeter and aircraft security.