Afghan teen survives 94-minute flight in aircraft landing gear, found alive at Delhi airport

 

By Sumesh Rajan | September 24, 2025

New Delhi, INDIA: In an extraordinary breach of aviation security, a 13-year-old Afghan boy miraculously survived a perilous journey from Kabul to Delhi by hiding in the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air passenger aircraft.

The incident occurred on Sunday September 21 when Kam Air flight RQ-4401 landed at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi, around 11:10 am after a 94-minute flight from Kabul. Airport personnel were stunned to discover the boy, a native of Kunduz city in northern Afghanistan, wandering on the taxiway soon after the plane touched down.

How the Boy Pulled Off the Stunt

According to security sources, the teenager sneaked into Kabul Airport, followed a group of passengers, and climbed into the rear central landing gear bay of the aircraft just before departure. During post-flight inspections, airline engineers also recovered a small red-colored audio speaker inside the compartment, believed to have been carried by the boy.

Such attempts, known in aviation terminology as “wheel-well stowaways,” are considered almost impossible to survive. The landing gear bays are unpressurized, with oxygen levels plummeting at high altitudes and temperatures dropping as low as minus 50°C. Cramped conditions also increase the risk of falling when the landing gear deploys during landing.

The boy later told officials from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that he had undertaken the journey “out of curiosity” and did not realize the flight was bound for Delhi. According to The Indian Express, the teenager initially wanted to travel to Iran but mistakenly boarded the Kabul–Delhi flight.

Security Shock and Immediate Action

The boy’s presence was first noticed by the airline’s chief security officer, who spotted him on the taxiway. He was immediately detained and handed over to CISF officials at Terminal 3. After several hours of questioning, the boy was repatriated to Kabul on Kam Air’s return flight RQ-4402 the same afternoon.

Authorities at IGI Airport confirmed that the aircraft was thoroughly inspected following the discovery. Security teams, including Kam Air’s engineering staff, carried out anti-sabotage checks before the plane was cleared for further operations.

Rare but Not Unprecedented

Aviation safety experts emphasize that the boy’s survival was nothing short of miraculous. Data from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shows that between 1947 and 2021, nearly 77% of people attempting such stowaway journeys in wheel wells have died due to hypoxia or hypothermia.

In recent years, several such cases have made headlines. In 2022, a 22-year-old Kenyan man survived a flight to Amsterdam in the wheel well of a cargo aircraft, while in January 2024, two men were found dead in the undercarriage of a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic to Florida.

Questions Over Airport Security

The episode has triggered serious concerns about aviation security at Kabul Airport, raising questions about how a minor could bypass multiple layers of surveillance and board an aircraft undetected. Security analysts warn that such lapses not only endanger lives but also pose potential threats of sabotage.

For now, the boy has been returned to his home country, but his daring and dangerous act will likely prompt fresh reviews of airport security protocols in both Kabul and Delhi.