AFGHAN: A 13-year-old boy from Kunduz, Afghanistan, has survived a perilous 94-minute journey hidden in the landing gear of a Kam Air Airbus A340 traveling from Kabul to Delhi on September 21. The child was later discovered wandering inside Indira Gandhi International Airport after the aircraft landed, astonishing authorities with his survival.
During questioning, the boy admitted he had concealed himself in the rear wheel well “out of curiosity,” believing he was boarding a flight to Iran rather than India. Airport security teams later inspected the aircraft and found a small red audio speaker in the landing gear bay, likely belonging to the teen.
Officials deported the boy back to Kabul on the same flight—this time seated safely inside the cabin. His ordeal highlights the extreme dangers of stowing away in aircraft wheel wells, where temperatures can plunge to minus 50°C and oxygen levels drop sharply, frequently leading to hypothermia, hypoxia, or death.
According to FAA data, about 77% of individuals attempting such journeys since 1947 have not survived. This extraordinary case joins a very small group of rare survival stories, including a man discovered alive inside the wheel well of an Air Algerie flight to Paris in 2023.
