Yesterday’s discovery of a deceased stowaway in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 (registered PH-BQM) has put up several questions about how and when the man was able to climb into the aircraft, which originated from Lagos, Nigeria over the weekend. 

An investigation has however been launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

According to a spokesperson from the Royal Dutch Marechaussee, stowaways in wheel wells of aircraft face extreme temperatures that can drop to as low as minus fifty degrees during longer flights. This makes survival virtually impossible, and hypothermia is likely to be a contributing factor in this case.

He said, ‘Sometimes they survive, but most of the time it goes wrong given the sharp drop in temperature. On longer flights, temperatures can go down to minus fifty degrees, impossible to survive.’