A tragic incident involved a teenager who fell to his death while attempting to stowaway on a plane traveling from Sydney to Tokyo. His final moments were inadvertently captured in a haunting photograph.
The unfortunate decision made by an Australian teen led to his demise, with his last moments being immortalized in a photo taken by chance.
Keith Sapsford, aged 14, died after falling from the inside wheel compartment of a plane bound for Tokyo.
In 1970, airport security was far less stringent than it is today.
This lapse in security enabled Sapsford to access the tarmac at Sydney Airport, attempting to hitch a ride on February 22, 1970.
Tragically, once the plane was airborne, the wheel compartment reopened to retract the wheels, causing the teen to fall 200 feet to his death.
By a twist of fate, amateur photographer John Gilpin was present at the airport. He intended to capture some interesting shots and unknowingly photographed the fatal incident.
Gilpin didn’t realize he had documented the tragedy until he developed the film a week later.
While developing the photos, he noticed the silhouette of a boy falling feet-first from the plane, arms outstretched, likely in a desperate attempt to hold on to something.
Reflecting on his son’s fatal mistake, Charles Sapsford, Keith’s father, remarked: “All my son wanted to do was to see the world.
“He had itchy feet. His determination to see how the rest of the world lives has cost him his life.”
Les Abend, a retired Boeing 777 captain, has cautioned individuals against attempting to stowaway on aircraft due to inherent dangers.
“One thing never ceased to amaze me: that people will actually stow away inside the landing gear well of a commercial airliner and expect to survive.
“Any individual who attempts such a feat is foolish, ignorant of the dangerous situation — and must be completely desperate.”
Authorities have concluded that even if Sapsford hadn’t fallen, his chances of surviving the flight were slim due to extreme cold and lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
Research by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in 2015 indicated that only one in four airplane stowaways survive the journey.