# How could teen survive wheel well of airliner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168 "2014-06-19T20:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/1 "2014-06-19T20:36:13Z")
Hello Everyone, Recently a teen boy stowed away in the wheel well of a jet liner flying to Hawaii and survived the trip without a scratch. What I can’t understand is how it was possible for him to survive without oxygen asst the height a modern jet liner flies. Even a few minutes at those heights can prove fatal, yet somehow this boy managed to do it. How? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/2 "2014-06-19T20:37:32Z")
From what I understand, he was unconscious and hypothermic, which greatly reduced his body’s oxygen requirement. Heat from hydraulic systems kept him from turning in to a dumbass-cicle. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/3 "2014-06-19T21:15:02Z")
Pure God-damn luck. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/4 "2014-06-19T21:22:51Z")
He wasn’t totally unscratched; apparently he has lost some of his hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/5 "2014-06-19T21:46:13Z")
By being one, tough, egg. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/6 "2014-06-19T21:50:40Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > From what I understand, he was unconscious and hypothermic, which greatly reduced his body’s oxygen requirement. > > Heat from hydraulic systems kept him from turning in to a dumbass-cicle. This. How he found a spot that didn’t crush him is amazing. Some planes have obvious space in their wheel wells but most don’t. What often happens is that they’re crush when the wheels come up and are deposited upon landing about 10 miles out when the wheels come down. Sometimes it’s just past the runway on takeoff when the wheels come up and they’re knocked off the strut they were holding onto. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/7 "2014-06-19T23:47:12Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > This. How he found a spot that didn’t crush him is amazing. Some planes have obvious space in their wheel wells but most don’t. What often happens is that they’re crush when the wheels come up and are deposited upon landing about 10 miles out when the wheels come down. Sometimes it’s just past the runway on takeoff when the wheels come up and they’re knocked off the strut they were holding onto. Yike! Makes sense that there wouldn’t be a lot of room around the retracted landing gear though. Could the crew tell whether someone was trapped in the wheel well? Extra weight on takeoff? Are there cameras to watch the outside/underside of the aircraft ? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/8 "2014-06-19T23:52:45Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Could the crew tell whether someone was trapped in the wheel well? Extra weight on takeoff? Are there cameras to watch the outside/underside of the aircraft ? No, no, and not on the aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/9 "2014-06-20T00:22:30Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Could the crew tell whether someone was trapped in the wheel well? Extra weight on takeoff? Are there cameras to watch the outside/underside of the aircraft ? It was a Boeing 767 that has a gross takeoff weight of up to a little over 400,000 pounds. He is a teenage boy with a fairly slight build that probably weighs 150 lbs at most. That adds less that 0.04% to the planes takeoff weight so no, it wouldn’t be noticeable at all to the pilots. There are no cameras for the wheel wells because they shouldn’t ever be needed. Airport security is supposed to prevent such a thing from happening at all so it isn’t an item to check for on any checklist. I am curious how he survived as well. There have been a number of people that have tried that stunt all around the world and it usually turns them into to human popsickle bombs when the gear gets extended for landing. The air temperature at cruising altitude is about -70F even on the route to Hawaii and the air is so thin that it can render people unconscious in seconds if the cabin goes through a sudden depressurization and then kills most within minutes. I can’t imagine how someone survived without being crushed in the first place, the extreme low temperatures and the lack of oxygen at that altitude for over 5 hours. It is almost superhuman. I nominate him to be one of the next astronauts. He could save money because apparently he wouldn’t even need a spacesuit. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/10 "2014-06-20T01:36:18Z")
A slight (I hope) hijack: Let’s say hypothetically the crew found out he was there, and alive, halfway through the flight. What could they do to try to save his life? Assuming he was somebody else, not Joe superhuman stowaway, I mean. I suppose an in-air rescue attempt would be impossible? What about cruising real slow and having him jump into a body of water? Anything? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/11 "2014-06-20T01:49:44Z")
There have been 106 known stowaways in wheel wells since 1947. 25 of them survived. The others died from freezing, falling, or being crushed, it appears: > **[Wheel-well stowaway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wheel-well_stowaway_flights)** > > Wheel-well stowaways are people who attempt to travel in the landing gear compartment, also known as the wheel bay or undercarriage of an aircraft. Between 1947 and June 2015, a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) researcher had documented 113 such attempts on 101 flights. These 113 people were all male and predominantly under age 30. There were 86 deaths, a 76 percent fatality rate, with many unidentified decedents. There may be additional undocumented cases of wheel-well stowaways. Whe... ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/12 "2014-06-20T01:53:36Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > A slight (I hope) hijack: Let’s say hypothetically the crew found out he was there, and alive, halfway through the flight. What could they do to try to save his life? Assuming he was somebody else, not Joe superhuman stowaway, I mean. > > I suppose an in-air rescue attempt would be impossible? What about cruising real slow and having him jump into a body of water? Anything? “Hijack” is an unfortunate term here. 😃 Flying low would help - more oxygen and higher temperature. Jumping out at any speed a jet could maintain would not be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/13 "2014-06-20T01:53:51Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > A slight (I hope) hijack: Let’s say hypothetically the crew found out he was there, and alive, halfway through the flight. What could they do to try to save his life? Assuming he was somebody else, not Joe superhuman stowaway, I mean. > > I suppose an in-air rescue attempt would be impossible? What about cruising real slow and having him jump into a body of water? Anything? Unless a 767 can fly at 10 mph at 5 feet over the water, not a chance.More likely (WAG just for illustration) it would be 150-200 mph at 50-100 ft. How do you tell him what you’re doing anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/14 "2014-06-20T02:02:20Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > A slight (I hope) hijack: Let’s say hypothetically the crew found out he was there, and alive, halfway through the flight. What could they do to try to save his life? Assuming he was somebody else, not Joe superhuman stowaway, I mean. > > I suppose an in-air rescue attempt would be impossible? What about cruising real slow and having him jump into a body of water? Anything? There is this scene from the most over the top action movie ever - [Commando jumping from an airliner on takeoff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL5f15ybwuA). I think this kid’s stunt is ever more improbable than that one. There is no way to save someone in that situation even if you knew they were there. They are probably dead anyway but, even if you magically knew somehow that they weren’t, you would generally kill them by dropping them at anything over about 100 - 150 feet over water from a dead standstill and certainly kill them if you dropped them near the airliner’s stall speed (150+ mph in this case) even into water. My only conclusion is that the kid is real-life superhero. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/15 "2014-06-20T02:28:15Z")
What about an air marshal shooting his way into the wheel well from inside the plane? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/16 "2014-06-20T02:33:35Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > What about an air marshal shooting his way into the wheel well from inside the plane? That’s not likely to end well. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/17 "2014-06-20T03:56:49Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > What about an air marshal shooting his way into the wheel well from inside the plane? I have spent too much time in the wheel wells of both 737’s and 777’s. The main wheel well contain all the hydraulic pumps and a lot of other assorted goodies that keep airplanes in the air. Getting to it would also be a challenge. The center fuel tank of the 777 partially over the top and forward of the wheel well. The 737 center tank is forward of the wheel well. The most likely way would be through the passenger cabin, pull up a floor panel and avoid all the flight control rigging and electrical wiring. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/18 "2014-06-20T04:12:25Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I have spent too much time in the wheel wells of both 737’s and 777’s. The main wheel well contain all the hydraulic pumps and a lot of other assorted goodies that keep airplanes in the air. Getting to it would also be a challenge. The center fuel tank of the 777 partially over the top and forward of the wheel well. The 737 center tank is forward of the wheel well. The most likely way would be through the passenger cabin, pull up a floor panel and avoid all the flight control rigging and electrical wiring. Any sources of heat in there? Like hydraulic lines that would stay warm? I am really wondering how these guys live. Especially the one made it from Havana to Madrid, and the one who went from Tahiti to Los Angeles. I can barely survive an eight hour flight in coach… Anyway oxygen can seep in? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/19 "2014-06-20T04:34:09Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > Any sources of heat in there? Like hydraulic lines that would stay warm? I am really wondering how these guys live. Especially the one made it from Havana to Madrid, and the one who went from Tahiti to Los Angeles. I can barely survive an eight hour flight in coach… > > Anyway oxygen can seep in? That is what I am wondering too. That is some incredibly serious altitude and adverse temperature that should kill anyone within a few minutes let alone 5+ hours. I know medical science never likes to say that they have no idea how something was possible and they have everything all figured out but, based on my knowledge, that is one of those rare cases in which the story doesn’t seem possible but we know that it is true based on the knowledge at hand. What is the temperature inside the wheel-wells and do they have any supplemental oxygen at all? In my educated experience, no human should be able to survive that combination of circumstances yet he did. How did that happen? How does a teenage boy survive -70F temperatures plus oxygen deprivation for 5+ hours without many adverse effects other that transitory hearing loss from jet engine noise.? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168/20 "2014-06-20T04:46:31Z")
for the OP, I’ve been greatly perplexed by the same thing. This is not the first time someone has tried this, but AFAIK it is the first time someone has succeeded. I hope it doesn’t spur copycats because all other attempts have failed (fatally). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-teen-survive-wheel-well-of-airliner/691168.md?page=2)