• UK police appeal for help identifying man who fell from sky

    Metropolitan Police via AP

    This e-fit provided by the London Metropolitan Police shows a computer-based face of a man authorities police are trying to identify after his body was found in west London.

    By The Associated Press

    LONDON — Police in Britain have appealed for help establishing the identity of a man whose body apparently fell from a plane in the sky and crashed onto a west London sidewalk.

    A London police spokesman, who was not authorized to speak on the record because of force policy, told The Associated Press on Sunday that police have released an "e-fit" image of the man's face and a photo of a tattoo on his left arm. The unusual tattoo showed the letters "Z" and "G."

    The mystery began in September when residents of a suburban street in Mortlake woke up on a quiet Sunday morning to find the crumpled body of a black man on the sidewalk of Portman Avenue, near a convenience store, an upscale lingerie shop and a storefront offering Chinese medical cures.

    Looking for clues to identity
    Detectives believed at first the man was a murder victim and cordoned off the area. Within a day, however, police concluded the man — probably already dead — had fallen to the ground when a jet passing overhead lowered its landing gear as it neared the runway at nearby Heathrow Airport.


    The apparent stowaway had no identification papers — just some currency from Angola, leading police to surmise that he was from that African country, especially as inquiries showed that a plane from Angola was beginning its descent into Heathrow at about that time.

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    The macabre explanation made perfect sense to residents, who are able to see planes lower their landing gears as they pass overhead, said Catherine Lambert, who lives a few doors down from the spot where the man landed.

    "You could see him, his body was contorted," she said. "It was a beautiful blue day, really sunny, but we had to keep the children inside. I didn't want the children to see, and to have to explain to them and put fear into them every time a plane goes over."

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    A post mortem conducted two days after the body landed listed the cause of death as "multiple injuries."

    Lingering sadness
    Lambert, 41, said there is lingering sadness, since the man has not been identified and there has been no way to tell his family he is gone.

    "I felt, what was he running away from? What made him think he could he could? And how will his family ever know? He's a lost soul now; his father and mother are probably waiting for him to make contact," she said.

    Police also said attempts to identify the man with the help of Angolan authorities had been unsuccessful. They stressed there is only "circumstantial" evidence linking the stowaway to that country.

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    In a statement, police said the man is believed to be an African of slight build between the ages of 20 and 30. He was wearing jeans, white sneakers and a gray sweatshirt when he was found on Sept. 9, police said.

    Although firm figures are not available, in recent years there has been a rise in the number of stowaways trying to get to Western Europe by hiding in the undercarriages of passenger planes.

    Police said the body is being held for possible repatriation in case the man's identity is established.

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  • UK stowaway schoolboy: 'It was easier than my homework'

    An 11-year-old boy who managed to fly from Manchester, England, to Rome without a ticket or a boarding pass told British newspaper The Sun that nobody ever asked him for a ticket. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By Duncan Golestani, NBC News

    LONDON -- An 11-year-old boy who flew alone to Rome, with no passport or ticket, has told a British newspaper how easy it was to board the plane.

    Under the headline, ‘I flew to Rome alone’, Liam Corcoran-Fort tells The Sun newspaper his adventure began simply because he needed to use the bathroom. The breach in security at Manchester Airport comes as Britain begins hosting the Summer Olympics in London. Several workers have been suspended from their jobs as airport and airline officials investigate how the schoolboy passed undetected through security checks.

    Liam told The Sun, “I didn’t have anything on me and no one asked me for anything. They smiled at me when I went through.”

    Related: Boy, 11, slips through security, flies from UK to Italy without passport

    His journey began at a grocery store in the north of England on Tuesday where Liam was shopping with his mother, Mary Corcoran. Unhappy after an earlier disagreement, he wandered off and boarded a bus which was heading to Manchester Airport. Once there, Liam followed families through the terminal.

    "I didn’t sneak through," he said. "I just wanted to go to the toilet. It wasn’t my fault because I didn’t know. I wasn’t trying to go anywhere I wasn’t allowed. But it was easier than my homework, even easier than computer games."

    When Liam spotted a plane he decided to have a look around and then headed for the bathroom. He said: “I opened the door and I was high in the air. I sat on a chair. I was a bit scared. I didn’t know what to do.”

    The crew on board the Jet2 flight realized they had an extra passenger and looked after Liam until they landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Meanwhile Liam’s mother thought he’d been abducted, until the police called to say they had found him—in Rome.

    “I was crying when I saw him again because I was so relieved. He is the most important thing in my life.” Mary Corcoran told The Sun newspaper. “He is vulnerable and very loving and kind. He doesn’t understand things like a normal 11-year-old and he would trust strangers if they were nice to him.”

    Manchester Airport said the matter is now being urgently investigated. "It is clear that documentation has not been checked correctly at security and the boarding gate," the airport said in a statement sent to NBC News. "The boy went through full security screening so the safety of passengers and the aircraft was never compromised. We made preparations to ensure that his return to the U.K. was handled sensitively to avoid any distress."

    The airline Jet2 confirmed three members of their staff were suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

    Despite learning a few Italian words, Liam said he did not enjoy his two hours in Rome: “It was too big and scary on my own. I just wanted to go home and see my mum.”

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