The body was discovered by maintenance workers in Riyadh after the Nas Air Airbus 320 flew there from Beirut.

The incident is still shrouded in mystery and has raised concerns about security measures at Beirut airport. The state-run National News Agency reported that the airport security chief Maj. Gen. Wafik Shoukair formally asked the interior minister to remove him from his post.

The security official said the body has been identified as that of Firas Haidar, 20, from the Beirut suburb of Bourj Al-Barajneh near the airport. Authorities were able to identify him based on photographs of the body sent by Saudi authorities. He said Haidar appears to have cut through the barbed wire fence surrounding the runway.

A metal cutter, a cap and two cigarettes without filters were recovered from the tarmac, he said, adding that the man appeared to have used the cigarette filters as earplugs.

The family's lawyer denied reports that Haidar was mentally unstable or on drugs.  “I know Firas personally, he is a very stable and decent man,” Mohammed Shoukair told The Associated Press. He said Haidar was a student at a technical university in Beirut and had just sat for exams.

“He wanted to get out, to find work to help his parents and family. This is the main reason for what he did,” he added.