Suspected stowaway found dead in US-bound Arik plane

Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos

A suspected stowaway reportedly died in the undercarriage compartment of an Arik Air aircraft.

The body was evacuated by the men of the Airport Police Command on Saturday.

A statement by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which confirmed the incident, said the body was discovered in an Arik airbus A345, with registration number, CS-TFX at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

It added that the corpse, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary, following due diligence by the relevant aviation and security agencies.

The statement said that FAAN was reviewing footages of the CCTV system and airside security operations with a view to identifying the gaps and personnel failure, if any, in order to take remedial actions.

The spokesperson of Arik Air, Mr. Banji Ola, could not be reached for comments on the incident.

However, the General Manager, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, confirmed to our correspondent that the flight was due to take off for JFK Airport, United States on Saturday night.

He said, “The aircraft was parked by the time the body was discovered, but we found out it was bound to leave for JFK later this night.”

Dati added that FAAN had intensified efforts at improving security and safety at both land and airside through the installation of high tech screening machines, CCTV surveillance cameras and patrol teams.

“The Authority is assuring all travelling passengers of safety of lives and property throughout all the nation’s airports,” he said.