Afghan Teen Survives 94-Minute Flight In Aircraft’s Wheel Well, Mistakenly Lands in Delhi

A 13-year-old boy from Kunduz, Afghanistan, survived a perilous over 90-minute journey hidden in the rear wheel well of a Kabul-Delhi KAM Air flight, the Indian Express reported.

The boy had reportedly intended to travel to Iran but mistakenly boarded the Delhi-bound flight. Carrying only a “small red-coloured audio speaker,” he sneaked into Kabul airport before dawn, followed a group of passengers, and hid in the internal compartment housing the landing gear.

According to a CISF official, the stowaway was discovered after KAM Air flight RQ4401 landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10:20 am. “Upon inquiry, it turned out that he hid in the rear central landing gear compartment (rear wheel well) of the aircraft. He is from Kunduz city, Afghanistan. Subsequently, an aircraft security check was conducted by the airline’s security and engineering staff, during which a small red-coloured audio speaker was found in the rear landing gear area,” the CISF said in a statement, as quoted by the Indian Express.

Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, the boy was first noticed by airport staff and then handed over to the Immigration Department. After questioning, he was sent back to Kabul at 4 pm on the return flight RQ4402.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, 132 people attempted such stowaway journeys between 1947 and 2021. A tragic case involving two Indian brothers in 1996 saw only one survive a Delhi-London flight in a British Airways Boeing 747.

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