Stowaway survives in landing gear on Guatemala flight to Miami

Robert Besser
02 Dec 2021, 12:33 GMT+10

A stowaway has been found alive in the landing gear of an American Airlines plane that flew from Guatemala to Miami
A video posted on Instagram by the Miami social news site Only in Dade showed the man being discovered by airport staff after the plane arrived at the gate
Guatemala has been a major source of undocumented migrants coming over the U.S. southern border in recent years

MIAMI, Florida: A stowaway has been found alive in the landing gear of an American Airlines plane that flew from Guatemala to Miami.

A video posted on Instagram by the Miami social news site Only in Dade showed the man being discovered by airport staff after the plane arrived at the gate.

The man, who stowed away on American Airlines flight 1182 that landed about 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

In a statement, American Airlines said the flight "was met by law enforcement due to a security issue. We are working with law enforcement in their investigation."

The matter was still under investigation in Guatemala, stated Samuel Orozco, spokesperson for the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics, Guatemala's civil aviation authority.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not available for comment on Saturday.

"We received this video and spoke to the person that took it, he was very scared and it is unbelievable that someone would survive this," said Dan Vasquez from Only in Dade.

In a statement to a local NBC affiliate, the Federal Aviation Authority said, "As of February 2021, 129 people have attempted to stow away in the wheel wells or other areas of commercial aircraft worldwide since 1947. Of those, 100 people, or about 78%, died of injuries or exposure during the flight."

Guatemala has been a major source of undocumented migrants coming over the U.S. southern border in recent years.

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