Stowaway Survives 11-hour Flight In The Wheel Well Of A Cargo Plane

The huge wheels of the plane were parked on the runway of the airport

Photo: Getty Images

A man survived an 11-hour flight after hiding in the wheel well of a cargo plane. The man was discovered by workers when the Cargolux plane landed in Amsterdam. He was rushed to the hospital and is doing well, authorities said in a statement on Twitter.

The flight departed from Johannesburg, South Africa, and made a stop in Nairobi, Kenya, before landing at Schiphol airport. Officials have not determined when the man climbed into the wheel well of the Boeing 747 freighter.

Investigators have not determined where the man is from or why he risked his life to stow away on the cargo jet. Surviving in the wheel well of a plane for that long of a trip is nothing short of a miracle due to the extremely cold temperatures and lack of oxygen.

"Our first concern, of course, was for his health," Dutch military police spokeswoman Joanna Helmonds told Reuters. "This is definitely very unusual that someone was able to survive the cold at such a height - very, very unusual."


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