Human remains were found on the rear wheel compartment of a Nas Air jet when it landed in Riyadh after a flight from Beirut Saturday, Lebanon's Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said, adding that a man had apparently tried to hitch a ride on the aircraft's landing gear. “I have given orders to Lebanese civil aviation authorities to be in contact with their counterparts in Riyadh and Nasair officials to follow up on details of the incident and investigation,” he said. The body was discovered when a maintenance worker went to inspect the right rear landing gear of the Airbus 320 after it landed at Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport on the flight from Lebanon, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement. “When approaching the aircraft he discovered the body of a person who had tried to hide in the wheel bay while the plane took off from Beirut International Airport,” the authority said. The unidentified body was sent to forensic medical experts for further examination, it said. “A man who has not yet been identified somehow managed to grab hold of a (wheel) of the jet in Beirut without the control tower noticing before takeoff,” a Lebanon airport official was quoted as saying by a news agency. However, Nas Air Corporate Communication Manager in Riyadh Ahmed Saleem identified the ‘stowaway' as a Lebanese national. “At the moment we don't know much as to how the man breached the Lebanese airport security and found his way to the tarmac. We are waiting for a technical report from Lebanese airport authorities,” Saleem told Saudi Gazette. Nas Air Flight XY 720 took off from Beirut airport with 130 people on board late Friday and landed after midnight Saturday in Riyadh, where the remains were found during maintenance operations, according to Lebanese airport offficials. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said passengers on the plane reported seeing a man in a baseball cap with a backpack make a dash for plane as it prepared to taxi. He stumbled once and then continued toward the plane. “The passengers and flight attendants informed the pilot, but he did not take any action and continued takeoff without informing the Beirut control tower” that anything was amiss, according to the NNA. Authorities at King Khalid International Airport have also started their investigation into the case. Nas Air is a subsidiary of the Riyadh-based Saudi National Air Services. It is the first low-cost carrier to fly in Saudi Arabia and started its domestic flights on February 25, 2007.
