Body parts of stowaway falls from plane

NEW YORK - Pieces of a man's body fell from the wheel well of a South African Airways passenger plane bound for John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on Tuesday and landed in the yard of a suburban home, police said.

A United States customs inspector discovered the rest of the man's body at 7.30am (11.30pm NZT Tues) after Flight 203 landed in New York from Johannesburg, South Africa, said a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees area airports.

A South African Airways spokeswoman said it appeared to have been a stowaway attempt. She said the plane had stopped in Dakar, Senegal, on its way to New York.

The pilot reported feeling vibrations at takeoff but conducted a check and found nothing amiss, said Nassau County, New York, police detective Kevin Smith.

During the flight, Smith said the pilot felt more "vibrating sensations and heard pounding, but nothing appeared wrong with the plane."

The body parts, which included the right leg, part of the spine and a hip, struck a garage roof of the home in South Floral Park, New York, before landing in the backyard, police said.

- REUTERS