United Flight UA202

[HiloJulie]

Yet again.

TSA Withholds Comment On How Deceased Stowaway Hid in Landing Gear of United Airlines Plane From Chicago to Maui

I have a feeling there is more to this story however and is why TSA has withheld comment.

From the linked article:

"As of December 26, the airline says that it has not been established how or when the person accessed the wheel well.

Although there is suspicion that a security breach at Chicago O’Hare could have allowed the stowaway to access the wheel well undetected, the aircraft (registration: N12010) had arrived in Chicago from Sao Paulo, Brazil, just a few hours before it departed for Hawaii.

Routine maintenance checks, as well as a separate ‘walk around’ inspection by the pilots operating the flight to Maui, should have identified the stowaway if the person had come from Sao Paulo, where the risk of stowaways is heightened."

Chicago O'Hare has security cameras on virtually every square inch of each and every gate - inside and outside - which should have allowed TSA to see anyone climbing into the wheel well.

I can't speak for Sao Paulo, Brazil's airport security - so - either there was a security breach at O'Hare, or there was a "walk around" inspection at O'Hare that was not done very well.

Both very concerning issues.

[terracore]

Obie can probably weigh in on this better than I can, but I don't think a pilot's "walk around" can detect a stowaway deep in the wheel well of a 787-10 Dreamliner, despite what the article says, and that's not something they normally look for anyway. And even if the pilot had a particularly strong flashlight and was looking at just the right place, that wouldn't help if the person stowed away after the walk around.

[MyManao]

that wouldn't help if the person stowed away after the walk around.

In Puna?

[Moderator 2]

In Puna?

Maui, Hawaii.

[HiloJulie]

I'd love to hear what Obie thinks, however, between the maintenance crews and the Captain, I would assume the landing gears on any commercial jet, especially a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner would be visually inspected thoroughly before each flight. 

Granted a dead body is not a regular occurrence, but I can see the inspection looking for possible debris intake from the last take off/landing as well as closely examining all of the hydraulic lines and hoses and components inside the wheel well "cabin." Any possible debris (including a body) inside the wheel wells could prevent the gear from fully retracting as well upon its next takeoff.

At any event, the stowaway's fate was pretty much decided when thy did what they did - either in Brazil OR Chicago, but in my opinion, someone screwed up. Be it a security lapse or an inspection lapse at O'Hare, someone screwed up.

And now, the Maui AND Hawaii State taxpayers are dragged into it. (PunaWeb is still for discussing Puna AND HAWAII STATE matters, right?)

[Obie]

I've never worked on a 787 so I can't comment on whether the gear door would be opened for the ETOPS pre- departure check.

The landing gear is out in the open and that's what would be inspected. You would mainly be looking for hydraulic and fuel leaks and the gear doors would be opened if any dripping or puddles were noted.

The 787 has far fewer hydraulic lines and components in the wheel wells. The 787 uses electric components more than hydraulic and pneumatic.

[terracore]

that wouldn't help if the person stowed away after the walk around.

In Puna?

I'm not a pilot, but I don't think the walk around extends this far.

[HiloJulie]

(Caution: This post may contain verbiage deemed by some to be morbid and may cause some people a little queasiness)

I had a thought about this entire situation and have a few possible theories as to what COULD have happened.

Any jet flying at 38,000ish feet - will have a temperature inside the wheel well of around 75 below zero. The jet involved, flew from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Chicago O'Hare which is a 10-to-11-hour flight. It landed at 5AM Chicago time. Temperatures on the ground in Chicago that day were just at 32 degrees.

Assuming the stowaway did indeed get into the landing gear bay in Brazil, by the time the plane got to Chicago, the body would be a frozen block. Since the temperature in Chicago was just at freezing, and assuming the actual bay doors were not opened for inspection, its theoretically possible the body was just frozen to the inside of the gear bay.

But then, another twist. Since this plane came from Sao Paulo, Brazil, it was sent to Gate M20 at the International Terminal at O'Hare. After deplaning all passengers, it was then tugged over to Gate C18 for its flight to Maui, which would/could have jostled a body loose one would think but maybe not.

But then again, this is where any security breach may have happened when the plane was being tugged over to the new gate and the stowaway got into the gear bay during transit to the new gate at O'Hare.

At any event, the plane then left for Maui at 9:31AM - just 4 hours of being on the ground at 32 degrees. After another 8 hours at 38,000ish feet and 75 below zero temperatures, by the time it got to Maui, the body would be OR still would be just frozen block. 

After landing in Maui however, the temperature was around 85 degrees. It would not take long for that completely frozen block to quickly defrost to the point of someone noticing the body rather quickly.

At any event, the fact that as of this posting no definitive announcement as to what did indeed happen and who it was still has not been made, further making this whole issue quite intriguing.

[Obie]

The United flight to ORD arrives in Sao Paulo at 7:45 AM and does not depart until 9:25 PM.

I suspect it's scheduled that way to give the crew 8 hours of rest.

Plenty of time for a stowaway to sneak onboard and the aircraft would be parked in a remote location away from the terminal.

[HiloJulie]

Good observation Obie!

Still, no news release as to how it happened or who it was.