Afghan Boy’s wheel-Well Flight Shocks Aviation Experts at Delhi’s IGI Airport
New Delhi – Aviation experts expressed shock at the survival of an Afghan boy, identified only as Faizal, who travelled for 90 minutes hidden in the wheel-well of a Kam Air flight landing at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on November 26th. The incident, a highly dangerous and frequently enough fatal undertaking, has prompted scrutiny of security protocols.
The Kam Air flight RQ 4401 touched down at IGI at 10:20 am. Approximately 20 minutes later, an airline security officer discovered Faizal wandering barefoot on the apron, visibly distressed with dusty clothes and blistered feet. He possessed only a few medicines. by 11:10 am, the Security Operations Control Centre was alerted and the boy was taken to the arrival deportee room, according to an official familiar with the situation.
Unable to communicate in English or Hindi, airport officials enlisted the help of the Afghan crew aboard the aircraft to translate. They learned Faizal was from Kunduz and had gained access to Kabul airport by following passengers closely. He then climbed into the central landing gear compartment and secured himself inside.
During questioning, facilitated by the crew, Faizal described the harrowing conditions of his journey. He recounted how the heat from the tires melted his shoes during takeoff and how he used his pheran (a customary Afghan cloak) and jacket to shield himself from the freezing temperatures at 30,000 feet, believing residual tire heat aided his survival. A small red Bluetooth speaker was also found in the landing gear bay,belonging to the boy.
The discovery triggered a coordinated response involving Immigration, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and airport operator DIAL. Senior officials in the Union ministries of home affairs and external affairs were immediatly informed, and Afghan authorities were contacted to verify Faizal’s identity.
After nearly three hours of verification, afghan officials confirmed his details. Arrangements were swiftly made for his repatriation. At 4:00 pm, faizal was placed on the same Kam Air jet, RQ 4402, but this time as a passenger, and flown back to Kabul on the same day.
Aviation experts have noted Faizal’s survival is unusual, though not entirely unprecedented. Former pilot Captain Sharath Panicker explained, “It has been done before and can happen again.The fuselage space around the landing gear does have space — it includes components like fire bottles and hydraulic systems. Once the aircraft is airborne, the landing gear retracts into this area.But as it’s not part of the pressurised cabin, the temperature inside keeps dropping as the plane goes higher.”
However, the incident underscores the extreme risks involved. Globally, similar attempts have frequently resulted in tragedy. In January 2024, two men were found deceased in the landing gear of a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic to Florida. In December 2023, an Algerian youth was found in critical condition with severe hypothermia after flying from Oran to Paris. A Guatemalan man did survive a flight to Miami in 2021 after hiding in a wheel well for several hours.