Arik Air said today that the lifeless body of unidentified stowaway was found in the main wheel well of one of Arik Air’s A330-200 aircraft at the Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.
The latest discovery makes it the third dead stowaways that have been found on the airline’s aircraft beginning from 2012, 2015 and 2016.
This was disclosed to journalists by the Public Relations and Communications Manager Mr. Adebanji Ola.
According to Adebanji the aircraft operated the scheduled Lagos-Johannesburg flight that departed the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport(MMA), Lagos at 3:55pm on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 and arrived Johannesburg shortly before 11pm.
He further explained that 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 body of the stowaway during inspection phase.
According to him, “Investigations are ongoing to determine how the stowaway found his way into the aircraft’s main wheel well.”
Abelnewsng.com recalled that in October, 2012, the lifeless body of a stowaway was found in the hold of Arik’s Lagos-New York flight. Many wondered how he made it to America in that manner.
In March 14, 2015 unidentified male in his 40s on board the airline’s aircraft Lagos–New York City was also found dead.
In September 2013, a 14-year-old boy, Daniel Oikhena, stowed away in an Arik Air Benin City-Lagos flight.
The boy, who hid in the tyre compartment survived the flight to Lagos.
Oikhena had stated that he thought the flight wasas flying to the United States and was hoping to fulfill his life ambition of a trip overseas.
Arik Air is Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline and operates mainly from two hubs at MMMA, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport(NAIA) Abuja.
It operates a fleet of 28 state-of-the art regional, medium haul and long haul aircraft including two Airbus A330-200.
The airline currently serves 18 destinations across Nigeria as well as Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Monrovia (Liberia), Cotonou (Benin Republic), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Douala (Cameroon), Luanda (Angola), Libreville (Gabon), London Heathrow (UK), Johannesburg (South Africa) and New York JFK (USA).
The airline operates a combined number of about 120 daily flights from its hubs in Lagos and Abuja, and has been Africa’s fastest growing airline for the last five years.
