Arik Air has confirmed that the lifeless body of a stowaway was on Wednesday found in the main wheel well of one of its A330-200 aircraft at the Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.
The airline confirmed this development in a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr. Adebanji Ola.
According to the airline, the aircraft operated the scheduled Lagos-Johannesburg flight that departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 3:55pm on Tuesday and arrived in Johannesburg shortly before 11pm.
The airline said engineers of South African Airways Technical facility at the Oliver Tambo International Airport, where the aircraft was scheduled for a routine maintenance check, discovered the lifeless body of the stowaway during the inspection phase.
Already, the Airline said it has begun investigation to determine how the stowaway found his way into the aircraft’s main wheel well.
Issues of stowaway have dogged the nation’s aviation industry but only became more frequent in recent years. Social commentators attributed it to the desperation of Nigerians to escape the biting realities that confront them at home.
