ISTANBUL 

A body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Hawaii that departed on Christmas Eve.

Authorities are investigating the grim discovery made on United Airlines Flight 202, which flew from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Maui’s Kahului Airport.

United Airlines released a statement on Wednesday confirming incident.

"The wheel well was only accessible from outside the aircraft. At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the wheel well," it said.

The flight was operated by a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner which departed Chicago at 9.30 a.m. (1530GMT) and landed in Maui at 2.12 p.m. (0012GMT Wednesday) local time, it noted.

The Maui Police Department is leading the investigation but has not released any details about the person’s identity or how they ended up in the aircraft’s wheel well.

United Airlines added that "we are working with law enforcement authorities on the investigation."

This method of stowing away is both rare and extremely perilous. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, more than 77% of those attempting to hide in plane wheel wells have died due to conditions like low oxygen, extreme cold or being crushed by the landing gear.

Operations at Kahului Airport were not disrupted, according to state officials. Further updates are awaited as investigations continue.