Body Found in a C-130’s Wheel Well at Ramstein

The body of a young man was found in the main landing gear wheel well of an Air Force C-130 during a post-flight inspection at Ramstein AB, Germany, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby announced July 29. The C-130 had returned from a mission into the US Africa Command area of responsibility and had made stops in Senegal, Mali, Chad, Tunisia, and the US Naval Base in Sigonella, Italy, before ending at Ramstein. It was not known at what point the man had entered the Hercules’ wheel well. The body of the youth, apparently of African origins, was discovered during a more thorough post-flight check the evening of July 27, he said. “American and German emergency responders were summoned, removed the body and transported it to a German facility for autopsy and further investigation,” Kirby said. Kirby acknowledged that the ability of the man to get into an Air Force aircraft indicated a possible lapse in security. But he noted that most of the C-130’s stops had been in austere locations not under US control. An investigation would be conducted on the security issue, he said.