Shock as stowaway found dead in Arik’s flight from Lagos to Johannesburg

The lifeless body of a stowaway was on Wednesday found in the main wheel well of one of Arik Air’s A330-200 aircraft at the Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.

The airline confirmed the incident in a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, a copy of which was obtained by newsmen in Lagos.

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.


It 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 body of the stowaway during the inspection phase.

The airline said investigations were ongoing to determine how the stowaway found his way into the aircraft’s main wheel well.

Edoardo Camilli ‏@CamilliEdoardo in a tweet said “Engineers discover deceased stowaway on Arik Air plane from Lagos to Johannesburg”.