Afghan teen survives shocking flight to Delhi hidden in plane’s landing gear

According to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as quoted in media, the boy sneaked into Kabul airport early Sunday, slipped behind a group of passengers, and concealed himself in the aircraft’s rear wheel well.

The plane, Kam Air flight RQ-4401, landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport around 10:20 am after a 94-minute journey.

According to BBC and Indian Express, airport staff later spotted the boy, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, wandering near the runway and alerted security. He was detained and questioned by CISF personnel before being handed over to immigration authorities. By the evening, he was sent back to Kabul on the return flight.

Authorities said the boy initially claimed he wanted to travel to Iran and had mistakenly boarded the Delhi-bound aircraft. He carried only a small red-colored audio speaker, which was later recovered from the landing gear compartment during a security check.

A CISF spokesperson described the case as a “miraculous survival,” noting that wheel wells are unpressurised, unheated compartments where temperatures at cruising altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, with little or no oxygen. Survival in such conditions is rare.

The incident echoes previous cases of desperate stowaways attempting to flee their countries, often with fatal consequences. Aviation experts warn that while some survive, many lose consciousness during descent and risk falling when landing gear is lowered.