Man Survives 11-hour Flight in Wheel Well of Plane
I wouldn’t recommend this type of travel!
It is being reported that a man survived an 11-hour flight in the wheel well of a plane that traveled from South Africa to Amsterdam.
A spokesperson for Dutch military police said it is very unusual for someone to be able to survive the low temperatures at such a high altitude.
The Washington Post reported that, while stowaways on flights are rare, those who managed to sneak into an aircraft's wheel well will face freezing temperatures and low oxygen levels, increasing their risk of hypothermia and hypoxia. They can also become crushed by the plane's equipment, or fall from the plane itself.
There aren’t many details being released at the moment about the man. We do know that he is 22 years old and is in stable condition. The plane took off from Johannesburg and did make a stop in Nairobi, Keyna, and then continued on its way to Amsterdam. It is unclear where the man boarded the plane but investigators are hoping to learn of his motives in the coming days.
The 22-year-old was taken to the hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.
The man has since applied for asylum however investigators are unsure about the circumstances that led to that application.
"We of course see that a lot of people try to enter Europe for a better life," he explained. "We see it every day, not only in airports but also in ports and highways."- Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the military police
Many took to social media to express their feelings and amazement about the situation.