The dangers of flying for free

Having flown a lot for most of my life and worked near airplanes for more than a year, I’ve always been fascinated by the stories of stow-away passengers who were desperate enough to take the enormous risk of hiding inside of a plane landing gear in the hope to get to the destination of their dreams without having to pay a fare or buy the services of some human trafficker. 

An article that appeared in the April 15 issue of The Guardian, by Sirin Kale, goes at length to explain the terrible consequences associated with that kind of attempt. I just want to recap some of the points in that extensive piece that touched me the most. First, this kind of stowaway practice since to have originated in Cuba, with nine cases since 1947. 

Again, its origin is linked to despair, persecution or abject poverty. The act of stowing away inside the wheel-well of an airliner is asking for big trouble. According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), from 1947 to February 2020, there have been 128 such incidents, all but one involving men, in which more than 75% of them died. 

Fatalities may take different forms; the stowaway may fall out of the plane as it takes off, by not holding on securely to the open cavity, plus there are some awful wind and turbulence, not to mention a deafening noise to withstand. 

If the individual survives the take-off, it may then be crushed by the retracting and folding landing gear inside the wheel well. 

Then, if all goes well, there are more serious issues. After about 25 minutes following takeoff, most airplanes reach a cruising altitude of 35,000ft feet where the outside temperature drops around -65F (-54C) that maybe brought up to -30F once the traps close and the surrounding hydraulic lines a feeble heat, but still cold cold enough to induce a deadly hypothermia. 

Then there’s the thin air with a high altitude atmospheric pressure about one quarter of what’s found at sea level, which drastically reduces the amount of oxygen needed to breathe, leading to hypoxia and brain death. There also a chance for decompression sickness, with gas bubbles forming in the body, causing a host of problems that could also lead to death. 

But that’s not all, if our stowaways survive the major portion of the trip, journey, they will be unconscious as the plane begins its descent. So when the traps open up and plane’s landing gear is dropped on its final approach, some five miles from the runway, the stowaway will probably fall from the wheel well to the ground thousands of feet below. 

In the Guardian article, Stephen Veronneau, the world’s leading expert on wheel-well stowaways is quoted to have said: “The person’s core body temperature can fall to 80.6F or even lower, vs. 97-99F normally. Upon landing, a gradual rewarming occurs, along with re-oxygenation. If the individual is so fortunate as to avoid brain damage or death from the hypoxia and hypothermia, cardiac arrest or failure on rewarming, or severe complications from neurovascular decompression, some progressive recovery of consciousness occurs.” 

This hibernation theory is pretty stunning, but when a person is almost frozen, oxygen and energy needs diminish, making them less susceptible to hypoxia-induced brain damage. When the person is gradually rewarmed, they reawaken, as if from a dream. 

This seem to be the only good news associated with that free form of travel. As for me, I plan to buy a ticket next time I’m back in the air !