Teen Survives Flight to Hawaii in Jet's Wheel Well

Kettlebell

Well-Known Member
Crazy... not sure how someone could survive that..


HONOLULU — A 16-year-old boy stowed away in the wheel well of a flight from California to Hawaii on Sunday, surviving the trip halfway across the Pacific Ocean unharmed despite frigid temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen, FBI and airline officials said. FBI spokesman Tom Simon in Honolulu told The Associated Press on Sunday night that the boy was questioned by the FBI after being discovered on the tarmac at the Maui airport with no identification.

“Kid's lucky to be alive,” Simon said.

Simon said security footage from the San Jose airport verified that the boy from Santa Clara, Calif., hopped a fence to get to Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45 on Sunday morning. The child had run away from his family after an argument, Simon said. Simon said when the flight landed in Maui, the boy hopped down from the wheel well and started wandering around the airport grounds.

“He was unconscious for the lion's share of the flight,” Simon said. The flight lasted about 5 1/2 hours.

Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Alison Croyle said airline personnel noticed the boy on the ramp after the flight arrived and immediately notified airport security.

“Our primary concern now is for the well-being of the boy, who is exceptionally lucky to have survived,” Croyle said.

Simon said the boy was medically screened and found to be unharmed.

“Doesn't even remember the flight,” Simon said. “It's amazing he survived that.”

A call and email message to a Mineta San Jose International Airport spokeswoman were not immediately returned. Officials at Kahului Airport referred questions to the State Department of Transportation, which did not return a phone call seeking comment. A Transportation Security Agency spokesman who declined to be named referred questions to the FBI and airport authorities.

The boy will not be charged and was referred to child protective services, Simon said.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/natio...owaway-20140420,0,5917852.story#ixzz2zUi2webU
 
Thats crazy. Now the important thing is to find out how the kid managed to simply climb a fence and walk up to an airplane at a major airport. There have been a few breaches lately. Its time to electrify the perimeter fencing.
 
"The boy will not be charged"

Uh...why not?? He's 16. When I was 16 I certainly knew it was illegal to jump an airport fence and sneak into the wheel area of an aircraft. He should learn some sort of a lesson from this.

On a side note, TSA is a joke! They are worried about making you dump out your water bottle but a 16 year old can do this? What's to stop a terrorist from just jumping a fence and planting a bomb?
 
"The boy will not be charged"

Uh...why not?? He's 16. When I was 16 I certainly knew it was illegal to jump an airport fence and sneak into the wheel area of an aircraft. He should learn some sort of a lesson from this.

On a side note, TSA is a joke! They are worried about making you dump out your water bottle but a 16 year old can do this? What's to stop a terrorist from just jumping a fence and planting a bomb?
Because he had a ticket, but when he found out it was the middle seat in between two large gentlemen he opted for the more comfortable seating in the wheel well.
 
Based on the way the media has covered aviation stories as of late, I'm going to guess he was in the baggage compartment, not the wheel well.
I'm with you. I can't believe he survived 5 1/5 hours in a wheel well.

Around the world, many of the people who attempt wheel well stowaways are looking to escape their countries through international flights.
Escaping the poverty of San Jose.
 
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It was a 767 @Derg is there access to any pressurized part of the aircraft from within the wheel well??? Or would the doors seal well enough to hold some pressure for the duration of the flight?
 
It was a 767 @Derg is there access to any pressurized part of the aircraft from within the wheel well??? Or would the doors seal well enough to hold some pressure for the duration of the flight?

Aircraft wheels are located outside the pressure vessel. There are no outflow valves there either. Would probably be very bad in the event of a brake fire/overheat.
 
Seeing as how it's physiologically impossible to survive for hours at FL380 without positive pressure O2, I'm thinking there must be something wrong with this story.

Saw one article that said while highly unlikely to survive, soem people may go into a hibernation state almost, slowing everything down....Not a chance I am willing to take. There was also security tape of the kid jumping the fence and walking across the ramp.....If it is true, security fail on a number of levels.....
 
Aircraft wheels are located outside the pressure vessel. There are no outflow valves there either. Would probably be very bad in the event of a brake fire/overheat.

What about the doors having a good enough seal to hold pressure in? I know its very unlikely, but so is someone surviving in a wheel well at FL380.
 
Saw one article that said while highly unlikely to survive, soem people may go into a hibernation state almost, slowing everything down....Not a chance I am willing to take. There was also security tape of the kid jumping the fence and walking across the ramp.....If it is true, security fail on a number of levels.....

That's what I was wondering - how some people can be revived after like a half hour or more in freezing water because their metabolism and everything shuts down due to the cold.
 
If it's outside the pressure vessel, where would the air come from to "pressurize" the area?

As in the outside pressure when the gear goes up and the doors close, could the seals in the door hold that pressure in without leaking to the outside
 
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