A chilling simulation has surfaced, illustrating the ordeal faced by two men who attempted to hide in an aircraft’s wheel well during an 11-hour journey.
In 2022, a 22-year-old man from Kenya was discovered alive in the nose wheel compartment of a cargo plane, having endured the entire flight from South Africa to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
“A stowaway was found in the nose wheel of a cargo plane from South Africa at Schiphol. The man is doing well under the circumstances and has been taken to hospital,” Dutch police tweeted following the incident.
Authorities were investigating the possibility of migrant smuggling in relation to the incident.
“Our first concern, of course, was for his health,” said Joanna Helmonds, spokeswoman for the military police, in a statement to Reuters.
“This is definitely very unusual that someone was able to survive the cold at such a height – very, very unusual.”
The man had applied for asylum, although there were no further updates on his status in the country.
Military police spokesperson Robert van Kapel remarked to the New York Times, “We of course see that a lot of people try to enter Europe for a better life. We see it every day, not only in airports but also in ports and highways.”
It was assumed that the man boarded the plane in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, during a stopover en route to Amsterdam.
He was accompanied by another individual on the flight, who unfortunately did not survive.
A YouTube simulation detailing the likely events has gained viral attention, depicting the aircraft’s descent to -60 degrees after ascent.
Oxygen levels also became critically low, causing both men to lose consciousness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09QrHGE-L74
Tragically, the other individual fell to his death, whereas the Kenyan survivor managed to cling to iron bars attached to the plane.
This incident is particularly noteworthy as stowaways on long flights typically do not survive due to extreme cold and scarce oxygen at high altitudes.
Many viewers have reacted to the simulation video, uploaded by Zack D. Films, in the comments section.
“This guy survived without oxygen, didn’t freeze to death, imagine -60 degrees, then didn’t die from the fall. He should have bought a lottery ticket on that day,” one person remarked.