Officials Say Senegali Man Was Stowaway

Authorities say the man found dead in the wheel well of a Delta Air Lines 767 from Senegal Friday morning was most likely a stowaway, trying to hitch a ride to the United States.

The body was found in one of the plane's landing gear wells after flight 35, from Johannesburg, South Africa to Atlanta via Dakar, landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The plane had been airborne for nine hours.

Attempts to stow onboard an airliner via holding onto the plane's landing gear are well documented... and alas, often end the same way. CBS affiliate WGCL-TV in Atlanta reports the body was found frozen.

An FAA spokesman told the Associated Press that Delta was notified the man may be inside the airplane as the plane was enroute, but determined it was too late for the plane to turn around.

Subzero temperatures and lack of oxygen make it nearly impossible for humans to withstand any length of time at higher altitudes in an unpressurized area of a plane.

The man had a small backpack with a few clothes but was not carrying any identification, said Michele James of Customs and Border Protection's port of Atlanta.

FMI: www.delta.com