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I love how this story tells us nothing about the type of aircraft. They don't even tell us if it was a jet. This tells us that Cargolux Italia operates 747 so we might be able to assume it was one of those but we don't know that for certain for the article only says the flight was operated by them and not that it was one of their aircraft. That is, it could have been a charter.
^^^ Here you go:
African stowaway survives flight in front wheel section of Boeing 747 freight plane which flew from South Africa to Amsterdam.
According to Schiphol airport's website, a Boeing 747 cruises at an altitude of just over 35,000ft and a speed of over 550mph. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ch-police.html
Meanwhile, the standard ambient temperature at 35,000ft is around -54C, with around 25 per cent less oxygen in the air than at sea level - conditions which would typically result in hypoxia, frostbite, hypothermia and a host of other ailments.
What's more, people attempting to cling onto the undercarriages of planes also risk being crushed by the landing gear as it is retracted following take-off - or falling to their deaths when the landing gear is deployed.
Yet the stowaway somehow managed to survive these horrendous conditions for several hours.
People have done this ever since the beginning of long distance travel, it will likely continue in the future.
We dont hear about many 'stowaway' incidents in the news these days, but its only news when they are discovered or there is something unusual about it.
There is an in-depth article in The Guardian about stowaways in general and one case in particular. Is it my imagination or do Kenyans, who are some of the best long distance runners in the world, seem to do a bit better than most other people in these situations? https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...y-kenya-london
There is an in-depth article in The Guardian about stowaways in general and one case in particular. Is it my imagination or do Kenyans, who are some of the best long distance runners in the world, seem to do a bit better than most other people in these situations? https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...y-kenya-london
Kenyans might run fast but they certainly can't fly!
I have skydived a few times from 15,000 ft (essentially 2.8 miles off the ground). This was a 15 minute flight, a 4 minute descent and then back on the ground. I could see everything happening around me.
I couldn't imagine being in a wheel well, total darkness once the doors close and ears popping/frigid temperatures for hours then "surprise" the door opens and you have to hold on for dear life when it is landing at 125 mph!
-54 celsius is -65.2F. Yikes!! I'm thinking he must have known something about that aircraft. Did it say if he was a ground crew person? That would explain access. He must have been wearing some great long johns! I wonder if there's electronic equipment in the nose wheel well that generates heat?
If something doesn't make sense, you don't have the full story.
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