Man Died In Gatwick Plane Wheel Compartment, Inquest Hears

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An unidentified man found in the wheel compartment of a plane at Gatwick Airport died after being exposed to extreme cold and low oxygen levels, an inquest has heard.

The man's body was discovered in the landing gear compartment of an Air Arabia flight which arrived at Gatwick from Tangier in Morocco on 16 June.

A ground engineer found him while carrying out checks on the aircraft, with the man pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was cardiac arrest, hypoxia — a lack of oxygen — and hypothermia.

Coroner Joseph Turner told Horsham Coroner's Court that conditions inside the aircraft's wheel compartment would have been extremely cold, with limited oxygen.

The West Sussex, Brighton and Hove area coroner said he had reason to believe the death was "unnatural".

Gatwick Airport's emergency services attended the Air Arabia aircraft shortly after 11.30am on 16 June after an incident was identified following its arrival.

The inquest has been adjourned until 24 February 2027.