This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/teenage-stowaway-survives-fivehour-flight-from-california-to-hawaii-by-hiding-in-jets-landing-gear-9273064.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Teenage stowaway survives five-hour flight from California to Hawaii by hiding in jet's landing gear | Teenage stowaway survives five-hour flight from California to Hawaii by hiding in jet's landing gear |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A 16-year-old stowed away in the landing gear of a Boeing 767 flying from California to Hawaii, surviving against staggering odds. | |
| The teenager survived the 2,300 mile trip across the Pacific by reportedly stowing away in the wheel well of Hawaii Airlines Flight 45, enduring -62C temperatures at 38,000 feet for five-and-a-half hours - conditions which are usually fatal to the human body within minutes. | |
| The boy avoided being crushed by the retracting undercarriage, and survived hypothermia and deadly hypoxia in the unpressurised compartment which stores the plane’s main landing gear. | |
| He also managed to stay inside the wheel well when the undercarriage opened thousands of feet above the ground as the aircraft came in for landing. | He also managed to stay inside the wheel well when the undercarriage opened thousands of feet above the ground as the aircraft came in for landing. |
| Shocked airport personnel discovered the teenager dazed and confused on the tarmac at Maui airport. | Shocked airport personnel discovered the teenager dazed and confused on the tarmac at Maui airport. |
| They immediately notified airport security, and the boy was taken to hospital looking awake and alert in a picture taken by The Maui News. | They immediately notified airport security, and the boy was taken to hospital looking awake and alert in a picture taken by The Maui News. |
| According to FBI spokesman Tom Simon, the boy was medically screened and found to have been completely unharmed by the ordeal, although he had no memory of the flight. | According to FBI spokesman Tom Simon, the boy was medically screened and found to have been completely unharmed by the ordeal, although he had no memory of the flight. |
| “He was unconscious for the lion's share of the flight,” Mr Simon said. The flight lasted about 5 1/2 hours. Kid's lucky to be alive”. | “He was unconscious for the lion's share of the flight,” Mr Simon said. The flight lasted about 5 1/2 hours. Kid's lucky to be alive”. |
| Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Alison Croyle said: “Our primary concern now is for the well-being of the boy, who is exceptionally lucky to have survived”. | Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Alison Croyle said: “Our primary concern now is for the well-being of the boy, who is exceptionally lucky to have survived”. |
| Investigators say the boy fled his home in Santa Clara, California after a family argument. Security cameras caught him jumping over an airport fence and clambering into the undercarriage of the passenger jet. | Investigators say the boy fled his home in Santa Clara, California after a family argument. Security cameras caught him jumping over an airport fence and clambering into the undercarriage of the passenger jet. |
| Aviation expert Peter Forman told Hawaii News Now that the chances of surviving such conditions are “very remote”. | Aviation expert Peter Forman told Hawaii News Now that the chances of surviving such conditions are “very remote”. |
| 'The odds of a person surviving that long of a flight at that altitude are very remote”, he said said. | 'The odds of a person surviving that long of a flight at that altitude are very remote”, he said said. |
| “A lot of people would only have useful consciousness for a minute or two at that altitude. For somebody to survive multiple hours with that lack of oxygen and that cold is just miraculous. I’ve never heard of anything like that before”. | “A lot of people would only have useful consciousness for a minute or two at that altitude. For somebody to survive multiple hours with that lack of oxygen and that cold is just miraculous. I’ve never heard of anything like that before”. |
| A spokesman for the FBI confirmed that the boy will not face criminal charges, and has been referred to child protective services. | A spokesman for the FBI confirmed that the boy will not face criminal charges, and has been referred to child protective services. |
| Most wheel well stowaways do not survive. In 2010, a 16 year-old was killed during a flight from Charlotte to Boston, and in 2012 a man fell onto a residential London street from a flight from Angola. | Most wheel well stowaways do not survive. In 2010, a 16 year-old was killed during a flight from Charlotte to Boston, and in 2012 a man fell onto a residential London street from a flight from Angola. |