Dutch authorities at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport have reported that they have found a stowaway in the front-wheel section of a plane arriving from South Africa, who incredibly survived the dangerous conditions of the 11-hour journey. The plane was departing from Johannesburg and made a stop in Nairobi, Kenya, where the fugitive was thought to have boarded, before continuing on to the Netherlands. The 22-year-old man is certainly lucky to be alive.
While he is not the first person to survive such a dangerous journey in the wheelhouse, this journey is incredibly dangerous. In commercial airplanes, without the insulation and pressure of the cabins, the fuselage of the airplanes is exposed to temperatures of -51°C.
Moreover, the atmospheric pressure at that altitude is between a third and a quarter of what is felt at sea level. This can easily lead to hypoxia, that is, low oxygen levels in the blood. There are gruesome stories about the consequences of this kind of risk. For example, in 2019 the frozen body of the victim of such a deadly combination fell into a garden in London from an approaching plane about to land at Heathrow Airport.
The stowaway, who sought asylum, was treated at the scene by the Dutch border patrol. They successfully raised his body temperature in the field to safer levels and confirmed he was conscious. They were then able to ask him a few questions. He was later transferred to a hospital.
Dutch authorities are now investigating exactly where the man came from and whether this is a case of migrant smuggling.
Statistics from the US Federal Aviation Agency show that 126 people have been hiding on an airplane since 1947, and 77 percent of them died during this dangerous journey. The real numbers are estimated to be much higher than the statistics.
Political rhetoric about the plight of refugees, particularly in the West, has turned primarily and increasingly to anti-immigration in the last few decades. With the growing climate crisis, increasing natural disasters, wars and political unrest, the number of immigrants and refugees seems to increase, rather than decreasing.
Aviation correspondent Richard Schuurman described it as a “miracle” that the stowaway survived here.
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