A stowaway found dead in the wheel well of a British Airways jet was a South African teen, but investigators were still trying to determine where and how he got into the plane, officials said on January 29.

The name of the victim was not released.

On January 28, the pilot found the body in the afternoon in the front wheel well of the 747-400 during a routine inspection at Los Angeles International Airport shortly before it was to return to London. The plane was delayed for about five hours.

British Airways Flight 283 had arrived from London Heathrow Airport on January 28. Before that, it had made trips to Hong Kong, Singapore, Cape Town, South Africa, and Vancouver, said Alan Proud, a spokesman for British Airways.

Authorities identified the stowaway as a black male carrying South African papers, according to an official familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was continuing.

The FBI was trying to determine which country he boarded from, said bureau spokesman Ken Smith.

On January 12, the body of a young African man was discovered in the wheel well of a Delta plane that landed in Atlanta from Dakar, Senegal.

Authorities determined that the man hid in the plane in Senegal and was suffocated by the landing gear.