Headless body of an African stowaway was found in an office block air conditioning unit after plummeting 1,400ft from the undercarriage of a jet landing at Heathrow

A decapitated stowaway was found in an air conditioning unit of an office block after he fell from a jet coming into land at Heathrow, an inquest heard.

Carlito Vale, believed to be 29, was still alive when he plummeted 1,400 ft to his death when the undercarriage of a British Airways flight opened.

The orphan from Mozambique had hidden on the aircraft for the 8,000-mile journey from
Johannesburg to Heathrow on June 18 last year.

The jet was passing over west London when the wheel wells of the landing gear opened, dropping Mr Vale on top of a building used by the online shopping company, Notonthehighstreet.com, in Kew Road, Richmond.

Flight data showed the plane was at an altitude of around 1,400ft when it passed over the area where Mr Vale's body was found.

Another stowaway who was on the same flight survived but has since disappeared.

An inquest into Mr Vale's death at West London Coroner's Court heard his body was discovered in the shattered housing of an air conditioning unit after staff complained about the heat.

Facilities manager at Notinthehighstree.com, Michael Bentley, went to investigate the fault to see if the system was blocked and made the gruesome discovery at around 9.25am.

A statement from Mr Bentley was read by coroner Kally Cheema at West London Coroner's Court today.

It said: 'At around 8.44am I received an email from colleagues claiming the air was stuffy and that they were falling asleep at their desks.