China Airlines flight cancelled after stowaway jumps onto landing gear
A China Airlines flight had to be aborted just moments before taking off when a would-be stowaway was spotted trying to jump onto the landing gear as it rolled down the runway.
Flight CI028 from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport was scheduled to fly to Palau and was eventually cancelled.
The man appeared out of long grass at the edge of the runway and was first spotted by the pilot of an Asiana Airlines plane who alerted the air traffic control tower.
When police arrived he dropped down from the landing gear compartment and ran off.
He was eventually caught and detained.
An investigation is underway to ascertain how and where he breached the perimeter security.
The identity of the man is still unknown.
Thought to be possibly of Russian descent, he has not been communicating with authorities and facial and fingerprint scans showed he did not enter Taiwan on a legal travel document.
The incident led to a temporary closure of the runway causing delays to some flights.
The 149 passengers on the China Airlines flight were deplaned so airport personnel could complete a full security sweep.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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