A plane wheel well is a compartment in the wings or fuselage where the landing gear is stored when not in use. It is a hazardous location for stowaways, who could encounter low oxygen levels, hypothermia, crushing, or the risk of falling during the flight.

A body has been found in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane that landed in Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday, Dec. 24.

The discovery came after the flight, which originated in Chicago, landed in Hawaii. The death is under investigation.

At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the wheel well,” the airline said, noting it is working with law enforcement on the incident.

A dead body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane at Maui’s Kahului Airport on Christmas Eve. United Airlines said the unidentified man’s body was discovered in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on the Boeing 787-10 plane after it landed,

It was the second time in two weeks that an airline discovered a dead passenger in the landing gear compartment.

An investigation is underway after two people were found dead in a JetBlue plane's landing gear area at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane after it landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. The bodies were discovered Monday evening during a "routine post-flight maintenance inspection" at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,