Stowaways fall out of luggage hold of airliner in flight

[Queasy]

Check the picture in the article

Mystery over Shanghai plane fall
Friday, January 24, 2003 Posted: 8:31 AM EST (1331 GMT)

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Two people described as foreigners were killed Thursday when they fell out of a flying airplane as it prepared to land in Shanghai, the government said.

The two crawled out of the plane's luggage hold and fell from the undercarriage of Flight AF112 from Paris to Shanghai, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing a preliminary investigation by police officials. AF112 was an Air France flight from Paris, the airline confirmed.

The unidentified people fell onto a house in the Laoxiang neighborhood of Shanghai's Nanhui District, Xinhua said. It was unclear if anyone on the ground was injured.

Shanghai police started an investigation immediately after the plane landed at Pudong International Airport at 11:05 a.m., an hour later than its scheduled arrival.

Officials did not immediately identify the two foreigners or release their nationalities. One police officer said police asked for help from a foreign consulate in Shanghai to help identify the dead, but he refused to say which country's consulate or provide other details.

Air France's Shanghai spokeswoman, Zhuang Ying, confirmed that two people had fallen from an airplane and said police believe it was the Air France flight.

"The police haven't made their final conclusions. They're still investigating," Zhuang said. "There were several airplanes in the sky at that moment."

Shanghai's police and city government offices confirmed the deaths but would not comment further, saying the active investigation prevented them from releasing any information.

All passengers from the plane's main cabin left the plane safely, Xinhua said. Zhuang said every ticketed passenger on Flight AF112 was accounted for in Shanghai by the airline, suggesting the two may have stowed away.

The aircraft was held at the airport while the investigation continued, Xinhua said. Zhuang said Air France canceled Flight 111, which was scheduled to return to Paris on Thursday afternoon using the same aircraft.

 

[Orsorum]

 

[geno]

:Q

 

[Saltin]

The real mystery here is why were they stowing away TO China?

 

[db]

Probably what happened is they were in the wheelwells and fell out when the landing gear deployed. They were probably frozen stiff.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: Saltin
The real mystery here is why were they stowing away TO China?

true.

 

[ElFenix]

maybe they were like that guy last week that froze up in the gear and might have taken off and landed several times before being jarred loose

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
maybe they were like that guy last week that froze up in the gear and might have taken off and landed several times before being jarred loose

Article says:
"The two crawled out of the plane's luggage hold and fell from the undercarriage of Flight AF112 from Paris to Shanghai, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing a preliminary investigation by police officials. AF112 was an Air France flight from Paris, the airline confirmed."

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: Saltin
The real mystery here is why were they stowing away TO China?

that's what i was thinking

 

[Toasthead]

Ouch! That is gonna leave a mark.

--Toast

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: ElFenix
maybe they were like that guy last week that froze up in the gear and might have taken off and landed several times before being jarred loose

Article says:
"The two crawled out of the plane's luggage hold and fell from the undercarriage of Flight AF112 from Paris to Shanghai, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing a preliminary investigation by police officials. AF112 was an Air France flight from Paris, the airline confirmed."

you can't expect me to remember such details hours after i originally read the article

 

[dabuddha]

see that guy from cuba started a trend

 

[308nato]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
see that guy from cuba started a trend

Yeah, but apparently he did his homework.

 

[Darein]

That sure is a long flight to be hiding away down below.