A Man Hides in Airplane Wheel to Illegally Enter After Two Hours at Minus 50 Degrees

Discovered After Landing... Life-Threatening Severe Hypothermia
"Survival Would Have Been Difficult If Stayed in the Airplane Wheel Well"

A man attempting to stow away was found riding in the landing gear compartment where the aircraft wheels retract. The man is reported to be in critical condition due to hypothermia.

On the 29th (local time), foreign media including AFP reported that a man estimated to be in his 20s was found outside an Air Algerie aircraft that departed from Oran, Algeria and landed in Paris, France after 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The man was discovered during a technical inspection of the aircraft that landed at Paris Orly Airport and was transported to a hospital. His identity has not yet been confirmed as he was not carrying any identification.

The man was in the landing gear compartment where the aircraft wheels retract and showed severe symptoms of hypothermia, putting his life in danger. He is believed to have endured more than two hours of flight in an oxygen-deprived environment with temperatures dropping to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Commercial aircraft typically fly at altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet (9 to 12 km), where temperatures can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Survival chances are extremely slim if someone stays in the landing gear compartment, which lacks heating and oxygen supply, in such conditions.

In April, a man's body was found in the landing gear compartment of a plane arriving at Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. In August, two passengers hiding in the landing gear compartment of a flight bound for Bogot?, Colombia, died. In 2019, a man's body was found after falling from the air during flight while in the landing gear compartment.

According to statistics from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), from 1947 to 2021, 132 people attempted to stow away in landing gear compartments. Among them, 102 died, resulting in a survival rate of only 23%. Despite this, cases of attempting illegal entry in this manner continue to occur steadily.

In January last year, a man was found hiding in the landing gear compartment of a cargo plane that departed from Johannesburg, South Africa, and arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, attempting to stow away. He was immediately taken to a hospital but reportedly had no serious health issues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.