It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

16-year-old survives in wheel well of Maui flight

page: 1
9
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Apr, 20 2014 @ 11:50 PM
link   
Now here is something you don't see every day, at least outside of movies, anyway.


HONOLULU (AP) — FBI officials say a 16-year-old boy stowed away in the wheel well of a flight from California to Hawaii, surviving the trip halfway across the Pacific Ocean unharmed despite frigid temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen.
Source

This just came across and there isn't a whole lot to it yet, but it appears he hopped a fence to access the wheel well and the rest must have been a LONG flight from that position. A wee bit chilly too, I'd imagine. YIKES!



posted on Apr, 20 2014 @ 11:57 PM
link   
I wonder if he just wanted to get around the TSA. Is it really this easy to place a bomb on an aircraft.

P



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 12:19 AM
link   

originally posted by: pheonix358
I wonder if he just wanted to get around the TSA. Is it really this easy to place a bomb on an aircraft.

P
An out spoken idea like that, may end you up in Guantanimo,



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 12:20 AM
link   
So the cold temps, you can tough that out to an extent. But how did he survive with no oxygen? Must have been some coming through from the cargo area.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 12:23 AM
link   
a reply to: pheonix358

I have to admit that was not something which had crossed my mind. I was focused on the ordeal it must have been to endure the flight over. Heck, I wouldn't want to do it in coach class, let alone steerage. Literally, in this case. lol...

You have a point though. This must be an awkward story around TSA HQ. It kinda makes the checkpoints worthless if someone can jump a fence and ..there it is.

Of course, now they'll suggest armed patrols, double fencing and whatever else someone can dream up which costs money and makes a sexy press handout.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 12:36 AM
link   
Turns out there is some good info on Wikipedia on this.

Poor perimeter security at a number of airports around the world can make it easier for people to stow away on planes.[1]

Stowaways in aircraft wheel wells face numerous health risks, many of which are fatal: being mangled when undercarriage retracts, tinnitus, deafness, hypothermia, hypoxia, frostbite, acidosis and finally falling when the doors of the compartment reopen.[2] The landing gear compartment is not equipped with heating, pressure or oxygen, which are vital for survival at a high altitude.[2] According to experts, at 18,000 feet (5,500 m), hypoxia causes lightheadedness, weakness, vision impairment and tremors. By 22,000 feet (6,700 m) the oxygen level of the blood drops and the person will struggle to stay conscious.[2] Above 33,000 feet (10,000 m) their lungs would need artificial pressure to operate normally.[2] The temperature could drop as low as −63 °C (−81 °F) which causes severe hypothermia.[2] Those stowaways who managed to not be crushed by the retracting undercarriage or killed by the deadly conditions would most likely be unconscious when the compartment door re-opens during the approach and fall several thousand feet to their deaths.[2]


Wiki - Stowaways in Aircraft


edit on 4/21/14 by SixX18 because: (no reason given)


+4 more 
posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 03:31 AM
link   
I imagine he survived much like someone who falls into a frozen river.

Cold slowed his metabolism enough, that he could survive the trip, a rarity and fluke.

Hes lucky to be alive, I remember awhile back a case of a body falling from the sky in Europe, something similar flight from Africa, man fell from sky when landing gear lowered...

I'm Mr. Meeseeks.

ETA:

It also makes those Freedom gropes, seem like a needless intrusion of rights...

A false safety measure that is easily negated by anyone really dedicated to the task of subverting...
edit on 21-4-2014 by mrmeeseeks because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 06:11 AM
link   
Temp 50 below. No oxygen. He survived. I'm shocked.

- Did the cold slow his body down and not kill him so he went into some kind of freeze-sleep?
- Does he have Adonidas DNA and Tiger Blood (hit tip Charlie Sheen)
- Did he make his guardian angel work overtime and this is a miracle?

He should be dead. I hope he knows how lucky he is.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 07:26 AM
link   
I just caught this story on the morning news. Apparently he was unconscious for most of the trip. The story is that he got in a fight with his parents and ran away from home. FBI are currently questioning him.

I'm so glad we spent all that money inside airports on TSA personnel, xray machines, and public groping boxes. Seriously , there are no live feed security cameras around the airports?



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 08:55 AM
link   
a reply to: Wrabbit2000

I saw that news this morning. One incredibly lucky kid to still be alive. A five hours flight where he stayed in the wheel well, with very low oxygen and below zero temperatures. No frostbites, nothing. Supposedly, he was unconscious during most of the flight.

Very lucky. As for Airport security though:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Americans have us take off our shoes, gave me hell for having a nail clipper that I forgot to put in cargo luggage, they can screen and massage my jewels as if their lives depended on it but a 16 yo kid can jump over the fence and hitchhike a ride to Hawaii....

Bravo.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 09:06 AM
link   
Most people don't make it. My brother had an article from a newspaper years ago where they lowered the landing gear, and a pair of legs came dangling out with the landing gear. He had stowed away and the landing gear crushed him when it retracted.

As for the TSA, ramp security has ALWAYS been a problem. It's a huge area to have to cover, and not many people to cover it with. The average runway at a large airport is over two miles long, and most large airports have between two and four runways, plus terminal areas, all secured by a chain link fence, and a few gates. If there's a private aircraft area, they barely have that much security.


+5 more 
posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 09:38 AM
link   
Depending on the type of aircraft it may not have been as bad as you think. Landing gear doors have seals on them. They may not be air tight, but, they would reduce the amount of air that is lost. On takeoff the tires get pretty hot so some of that heat would be held inside of the wheel well. I'd make an educated guess and say that it didn't get below 35 F. in the wheel well. It looks like that there was just enough air to last him after he passed out. Lack of short term memory is a side effect of hypoxia. When they found him he was probably slightly hypothermic, which reduced his need for oxygen and just recovering from the hypoxia. His memory might come back. I went into 30 F water for about 15 minutes and have no recollection from the time I hit the water until I was back onboard the ship. That was in 1984 and I still don't remember it.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 01:54 PM
link   
I'm still waiting for the conspiracy angle on this one.

This must be a fake story since we all know the MSM produces nothing but lies.

Maybe he is a Rothchilds operative bent on taking over the plane and flying it west of Perth.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 02:14 PM
link   
Like stated before the wheel wells are sealed and for mechanical reasons they don't get that cold to keep proper tire pressure and make sure lines don't freeZe and such. Oxygen is an issue obviously the kid passed out. But once you are asleep your body uses less oxygen than if you would have freaked out. It is possible that designers have started to make the wheel wells more "habitable" for the equipment and we might be seeing a lot more of this.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 02:16 PM
link   
a reply to: marbles87

I've seen several of these in recent years. It was really rare in the past due to the deaths from the landing gear crushing people, and oxygen starvation.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 02:21 PM
link   
a reply to: Zaphod58

Agreed. Either crushed by the retracting gear or falling out as it is extended. But maybe for maintance reasons there is more room and spots where you can stay for the duration. But by no means is this kind of thing a good idea. What the hell was the kid thinking. Sneak on a freight boat like everyone else does.

I just heard that the kid will not be charged with any crime.
edit on 21-4-2014 by marbles87 because: (no reason given)

edit on 21-4-2014 by marbles87 because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 04:10 PM
link   

originally posted by: Wrabbit2000
Now here is something you don't see every day, at least outside of movies, anyway.


HONOLULU (AP) — FBI officials say a 16-year-old boy stowed away in the wheel well of a flight from California to Hawaii, surviving the trip halfway across the Pacific Ocean unharmed despite frigid temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen.
Source

This just came across and there isn't a whole lot to it yet, but it appears he hopped a fence to access the wheel well and the rest must have been a LONG flight from that position. A wee bit chilly too, I'd imagine. YIKES!


Wait, the article says he "survived HALFWAY across the Pacific"

What does that mean? Maybe that sentence should have been written better.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 04:13 PM
link   
a reply to: WarminIndy

Because Hawaii is about a thousand miles short of the halfway point of the Pacific. So he didn't QUITE make halfway, but he came pretty close to it.



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 04:53 PM
link   
a reply to: WarminIndy

I'd go with what Zaph said. Some staff writer looked across the room at a wall map and said 'Hawaii looks about half way, huh?'. So it became, he survived half way across the Pacific. (Never mind poor Midway, named for it's more fitting position..lol)



posted on Apr, 21 2014 @ 04:55 PM
link   
a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Technically Midway is part of the Northern Hawaiian Islands chain, so if you want to get extremely technical, Hawaii (or at least part of it) IS halfway across.




top topics



 
9
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join