A 15-year-old Somali boy survived a flight from California to Hawaii by hitching a ride in an airplane's wheel well

[Admin]

 

(CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who survived a flight from California to Hawaii by hitching a ride in the plane's wheel well said he was trying to get to Somalia to see his mother, a law enforcement official told CNN on Tuesday.

 

He remains in a hospital in Hawaii, Kayla Rosenfeld, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Services, said Tuesday afternoon.

 

The teen, who has not yet been identified, spent more than six hours on the ground before the Maui-bound jet took off, another government official says.

 

The boy jumped an airport fence in San Jose, California, shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday, hours before Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45 took off at 7:55 a.m., the official said.

 

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, didn't know when the teen climbed into the wheel well, but said the plane already was at the airport at 1 a.m.

 

Investigators say they don't think the teen knew where the plane was heading and just went to the nearest aircraft.

 

Teen stowaway raises questions about airport security

 

Authorities said the boy came out of the wheel well of the Boeing 767 about an hour after it landed at the Kahului Airport on the island of Maui.

 

He is in the custody of child welfare services workers, said Kayla Rosenfeld, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Services.

 

The teen told authorities he was from Santa Clara, California, and ran away from home on Sunday, FBI Special Agent Tom Simon said.

 

Emanuael Golla, a senior at Santa Clara High School who told CNN he had met the boy but isn't good friends with him, described him as extremely shy and quiet and said he had just transferred to the school within the past few weeks.

 

The boy told authorities that he crawled into the wheel well and lost consciousness when the plane took off.

 

He survived the nearly five-hour flight in subzero temperatures at oxygen-depleted heights -- as high as 38,000 feet -- against the odds, authorities believe.

 

Since 1947, 105 people are known to have attempted to fly inside wheel wells on 94 flights worldwide, the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute says.

 

Of those, 25 made it through, including a 9-year-old -- a survival rate of 24%. One of the flights went as high as 39,000 feet. Two others were at 38,000 feet.

 

The conditions at high altitudes can put stowaways in a virtual "hibernative" state, the FAA said.

 

5 stowaway attempts that didn't end tragically

 

CNN's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.

http://www.somaliaonline.com/a-15-year-old-somali-boy-survived-a-flight-from-california-to-hawaii-by-hitching-a-ride-in-an-airplanes-wheel-well/

[Safferz]

Wow, read about this story when it happened but I didn't know he was Somali. Amazing he survived.

[Holac]

Incredible!

 

I know what Americans are already thinking. How could a 15 year old be this dumb to assume every plane is going to Somalia. Perhaps there is more to this story than we are led to believe by the mass media. Could be he is not feeling well.

[Nin-Yaaban]

They said about 10% of the people who try survive this kinda thing. I remember couple of yrs back about a stowaway who landed at Dulles Airport with an Ethiopian Airline from Adis Ababa. I think the guy didn't make it thru and probably died in the cold, airless frigid.

 

Its amazing what desperation would force you to do. That kid was probably mentally disturbed and this was probably a cry for help. I hope he gets the help he needs.

[Alpha Blondy]

seriously?

 

this has the makings of a Hollywood movie.