Unknown man found in undercarriage of plane died of hypothermia, inquest hears
The identity of the man remains unknown despite international efforts to find out who he was.
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Your support makes all the difference.A man discovered dead in the undercarriage of a plane at Gatwick airport died from hypothermia, a coroner has said.
The inquest heard on Wednesday that the unknown man’s body was found frozen and unable to be moved in the right hand wheel well of an inbound plane from Banjul, in The Gambia.
The flight arrived into Gatwick’s north terminal at around 3.30am on December 7 2022, with the man’s body being discovered at around 4am.
A post-mortem examination by Dr Ceri Morgan found it was highly likely the man died from hypothermia.
He was wearing a dark-coloured fleece top and tracksuit type bottoms, no socks and plastic-style sandals.
No ID was found in his possession.
Despite international and national efforts to find out who the man was, including a public appeal by Sussex Police, his identity remains unknown.
A police report said a statement from the pilot detailed checks done of the aircraft before taking off from The Gambia, and that there was nothing “out of the ordinary”.
Ground crews were with the aeroplane, and the pilot noted it was dark.
Joanne Andrews, area coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, reached a narrative conclusion over the man’s death, with evidence suggesting he got into the aircraft before take-off in The Gambia.
The coroner said: “It’s sad he’s not been able to be identified and his family advised.
“(There is) no evidence how he came to be on the plane, but he sadly died of hypothermia.”
Sussex Police previously issued an e-fit image of the man who was believed to have been in his 20s or 30s and information has been shared with authorities in the west African country.
The coroner closed the inquest but added it could be re-opened if more information comes to light.