A 13-year-old Afghan boy has survived after hiding inside the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air passenger flight from Kabul to New Delhi. The teenager, who said he acted “out of curiosity,” endured a 94-minute journey through freezing air and low oxygen levels, conditions that are usually fatal.
The Kam Air flight, RQ-4401, landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Sunday morning around 10:20 a.m. When airline staff carried out routine checks, they felt shocked to find a boy wandering in a restricted area near Terminal 3. A later search of the plane revealed a small red portable speaker lodged in the landing gear, believed to have belonged to the boy.
According to media reports, the teenager came from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. He sneaked into Kabul Airport early Sunday morning and slipped past security by following passengers. Unaware of the danger, he climbed into the aircraft’s rear-wheel compartment, believing the plane was heading to Iran. “I did this out of curiosity,” the boy reportedly told officials during questioning. Instead, he found himself on a flight bound for India.
The boy’s survival is being described as nothing less than a miracle. Aviation experts say that once a plane takes off, the wheel well is among the most dangerous places a human could hide. The temperature at cruising altitude can range from -40 to -60 degrees Celsius. Oxygen levels also drop rapidly, causing most stowaways to lose consciousness or die before the aircraft lands.
“Normally, no one can survive in a wheel bay at 30,000 feet. Low oxygen and freezing air cause death very quickly,” said aviation analyst Mohan Ranganathan. “But in this case, the boy may have entered a space that was partially pressurized and retained some warmth, which allowed him to live. He could have clung to the internal structures to avoid injury when the wheels retracted.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has studied 128 stowaway cases in aircraft wheel wells between 1947 and 2020. More than 75 percent of those attempts ended in death. Even the few survivors often suffered serious injuries, frostbite, or permanent health damage. Earlier this year, authorities found two teenagers dead inside the landing gear of a JetBlue aircraft in Florida, showing just how deadly such journeys can be.
Indian authorities treated the case as a major security breach. A CISF officer explained, “Such incidents are extremely rare, but they show the loopholes in airport safety. If a child can walk into a restricted area and hide inside an aircraft, it raises serious concerns.”An
Immigration officers took the Afghan boy in for questioning after catching him. He appeared to be unhurt, though visibly exhausted after the risky flight. During interrogation, he repeated that he had no plan beyond curiosity. “I just wanted to see what happens. I thought the plane was going to Iran,” he reportedly said.
After basic medical checks confirmed he was stable, Indian officials decided to deport him the same day. Around 12:30 p.m., just two hours after arriving in Delhi, authorities sent him back to Kabul on the same Kam Air aircraft. They confirmed that officials declared the plane safe after a detailed anti-sabotage check. Normal operations resumed soon afterwards.
Airport staff who witnessed the scene were left shocked. One worker told reporters, “It was unbelievable. We have heard of stowaways in foreign countries, but to see a small boy alive after hiding in the wheels was like watching something from a film.”
Aviation safety experts warn that while this Afghan boy’s survival is extraordinary, such a dangerous act should not tempt others to repeat it. “This is not bravery. It is pure luck that he survived,” said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department. She explained that without oxygen, unconsciousness happens quickly, and at such extreme cold, frostbite and hypothermia set in within minutes.
