Stowaway survives 11-hour flight in nose wheel of cargo plane
Global News
The young man survived the flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Netherlands, despite extreme cold and lack of oxygen.
Dutch authorities were surprised to discover a stowaway hiding in the nose wheel of a cargo plane when it touched down at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport on Sunday morning.
The man, whose identity is being withheld, is believed to be between 16 and 35 years old; he somehow survived an 11-hour flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, reports CNN.
“We learned that a person was found having stowed away on a cargo plane at the airport’s cargo platform this morning,” Schiphol Airport spokeswoman Willemeike Koster said.
A spokesperson from the Royal Dutch Military Police told the BBC that it’s unusual that a stowaway would be able to survive such a long flight due to the extreme cold and lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
“It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive,” said Joanna Helmonds.
According to the BBC, the cargo plane made one stop on its journey from Johannesburg to Amsterdam, touching down in Nairobi, Kenya, which only lengthened the duration of the trip.
Helmonds told CNN that Dutch airport ground crews were shocked when they spotted the man. He was suffering from a low body temperature when he was removed from the plane.