Man Found Dead in Plane

23 August 2012, 18:37 | Updated: 23 August 2012, 18:39

A stowaway has been found dead inside a British Airways jumbo jet after it touched down at Heathrow.

The body of the man was discovered in the landing gear bay of the Boeing 747 after a 6,000-mile flight from Cape Town.

Police said the man was not a passenger or a member of the crew on the flight from South Africa's second busiest airport. 

Authorities in South Africa said a man was spotted jumping a fence at the transport hub before running towards a BA flight as it waited to take off last night.

Security staff gave chase but backed off for safety reasons and a subsequent search of the airport failed to find the man. 

Airports Company South Africa, which runs the airport, said it was carrying out an investigation.