Boy Survives 94-Minute Flight Hidden in Aircraft Landing Gear
A Kam Air plane is parked at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
A 13-year-old boy from northern Afghanistan miraculously survived a dangerous journey hidden in the landing gear of a Kam Air flight from Kabul to New Delhi. Authorities at Indira Gandhi International Airport discovered the boy wandering the runway after the plane landed on Monday.
Officials say the boy, who is from Kunduz province, told investigators he was driven by curiosity. According to The Independent, the flight lasted 94 minutes.
Local reports indicate the teen managed to sneak into Kabul airport, follow a group of travelers, and hide inside the aircraft’s rear wheel well. He carried nothing with him except a red audio speaker, according to the BBC. The boy reportedly believed the flight was heading to Iran and did not realize he was en route to India.
India’s Central Industrial Security Force confirmed that airline staff found the speaker during a routine inspection of the landing gear. After questioning, the boy was sent back to Kabul on the same aircraft two hours later.
Cases of stowaways hiding in aircraft landing gear are extremely rare—and often fatal. Experts warn that the extreme cold and low oxygen levels at high altitudes make survival highly unlikely, and the deployment of landing gear poses additional risks.
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