Afghan teen stows away in plane wheel well from Kabul, reaches New Delhi safely

NEW DELHI, September 23. /TASS/. A teenager from Kunduz, Afghanistan, hid in the wheel well of a passenger plane to reach the Indian capital, reports The Indian Express.

The 13-year-old boy started his journey early Sunday morning aboard a Kam Air flight from Kabul to New Delhi, a trip lasting 94 minutes.

At Indira Gandhi International Airport, he was found wandering on the tarmac and handed over to security. It was revealed that he had undertaken the journey out of "curiosity," intending to fly from Kabul to Tehran but mistakenly boarding a plane heading for India. He traveled in light clothing without any luggage.

Experts describe the boy’s survival as nothing short of a miracle. Commercial aircraft fly at altitudes between 9,000 and 12,000 meters, where temperatures can drop to -50°C. Unlike the pressurized cabin, the lack of oxygen in the unheated wheel well makes survival nearly impossible. The mortality rate for stowaways in such conditions is estimated at around 77%. In addition to hypoxia and hypothermia, there is a high risk of fatal injuries from the landing gear’s movement or falling from the wheel well.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), between 1947 and 2021, 132 people attempted to travel in aircraft wheel wells, but not all survived the ordeal. In 1996, two Indian stowaways traveling in the wheel well of a British Airways Boeing 747 from New Delhi to London met a tragic end, with one succumbing to the extreme conditions.

The Afghan teenager emerged unharmed from his airborne hardship and was sent back to Kabul on the next available flight.