Foetus found in airplane bathroom after landing in New York airport

Autopsy will reportedly be conducted to determine cause of death

Police monitoring the entrance to New York's La Guardia airport. (REUTERS)

Law enforcement in New York City has launched an investigation after a human foetus was discovered in an airplane bathroom, local news outlets reported.

The discovery was made after the flight travelled from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York’s LaGuardia airport, where it had been parked overnight. The jet was reportedly removed from the hangar by authorities after the foetus was found inside the aircraft on Tuesday morning.

A cleaning crew made the gruesome discovery, according to NBC New York, before the Port Authority police department arrived to the scene.

In a statement, American Airlines appeared to confirm its aircraft was involved in a police investigation at the New York airport.

"We have no major impact to our operation this morning while we are working with law enforcement on an investigation," the airline told NBC New York.

The Port Authority law enforcement, which covers the LaGuardia airport region, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Queen’s District Attorney's Office said it was looking into the incident.

The aircraft was out-of-service on Tuesday morning when the cleaning crew was servicing the plane at around 7:30 a.m., the New York Post reported.

LaGuardia warned of possible delays for American Airlines "due to an out of service aircraft" in a tweet posted just before 9:00am.

Sources told NBC New York the foetus could have been approximately five to six months old. An autopsy will reportedly be conducted by the medical examiner’s office in order to determine the cause of death.