On Monday, a dead stowaway was discovered in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Netherlands Airlines Boeing 777.


According to Belgium’s Aviation24, the plane (registered PH-BQM) took off from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital.

An investigation has been launched into how the unauthorized passenger boarded the plane.


Hypothermia, a medical emergency caused by the body losing too much heat, could have killed the man.

According to the Royal Dutch Marechaussee, stowaways do survive in some instances but not in the majority.

“Most of the time it goes wrong given the sharp drop in temperature,” a spokesperson said.


“On longer flights, temperatures can go down to minus fifty degrees, impossible to survive.”

The Royal Marechaussee is the national police service of the Netherlands, performing both military and civilian police tasks.