Despite a number of stowaways braving harsh journeys under extreme conditions, Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains why this desperate measure is never the answer.
Words: Captain Lim Khoy Hing
In this issue, I’m going to dis-cuss a rather odd topic that probably won’t pertain to you – since you’re comfortably seat-ed on an AirAsia flight reading this unusual article – but may still interest you: stowing away.
Many readers have written to me asking how it is possible that some stowaways have survived and wondering about the impact such a journey would have on the human body.
Recently, there was a news re-port of a stowaway incident that happened on a British Airways Boeing 747. The flight from Johannesburg to London covered 6,000 miles and took about 12 hours! One of the stowaways fell off the plane and onto the roof of a house, as the plane was descending to land. The second man, who was hiding in the wheel bay, survived the long journey, but with injuries.
Survival for stowaways seems to be a matter of luck. As to why people resort to such desperate and dangerous measures, I am not qualified to say. Perhaps, some believe the risks are worth taking, while others are simply ignorant of the dangers involved.
HAZARDS & DANGERS
Stringent security measures are necessary to prevent stowaway incidents.
So, what are the dangers then? Amongst others, a stowaway risks being crushed when the landing gears are retracted, falling off at great heights when the doors are opened, undergoing a rapid reduction in oxygen to the blood system, as well as being exposed to extremely cold temperatures, which leads to frostbite, and in-credibly high noise levels, which can cause deafness.
If a stowaway is lucky enough to escape falling off or being crushed by the wheels, the next hurdle is to fight against altitude-induced oxygen loss in the bloodstream, which leads to unconsciousness.
Lack of oxygen can lead to life-threatening consequences.
Inside the aircraft, this lack of oxygen is addressed by pressurising the plane, whereby the internal pressure of the plane is increased. For example, at 25,000 feet, without oxygen, a person’s time of useful consciousness (function with reasonable competence) is about three to six minutes. By the time the plane levels off at 35,000 feet, the time is reduced to 30 to 60 seconds. By pressurising the plane, most modern airliners are able to create a comfortable cabin altitude of say 8,000 feet when the actual altitude is 35,000 feet.
This is necessary because as the plane climbs, the air becomes thinner and the amount of oxygen absorption decreases. By pressurising the cabin as the plane climbs, this has the effect of squeezing the air back together, recreating the denser oxygen-rich conditions found closer to the ground. Hence, passengers are kept comfortable in a pressurised cabin whereas a stowaway hiding in the unpressurised wheel bay would gradually
become unconscious.
In 2003, a young man mailed himself in a large box that was put on a cargo plane from New York to Texas. He lived to tell the tale, but only because the box was loaded into a pressurised cargo hold.
Flying at 35,000 feet, the outside air temperature is around minus 55 degrees Celsius. Inside the aircraft cabin, the temperature is kept to a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius. A stowaway hiding in the unheated wheel compartment would suffer extreme cold and frost bite.
AGAINST THE ODDS
So, how have some stowaways survived? According to medical experts, some people enter a state of semi hibernation under certain low temperature conditions in which metabolism ceases and the need for oxygen reduces.
For example, the recent case of the 13-month-old baby girl who wandered outside in the bitter cold, clothed only in a diaper, and was found face down in the snow in Edmonton, Alberta. Her heart had stopped, and her toes and mouth were frozen solid, but hours later, she was revived. Doctors agreed that it was the slowed metabolism that saved her life.
This may explain how a stowaway on a Boeing 767 flight from California to Hawaii stayed alive on April 14. Then again, perhaps, residual heat from some of the hot pipes nearby may have armed the plane’s wheel bay, where he was hiding.
Hypothermia occurs when body temperature drops and this is usually brought on by prolonged exposure to extremely cold weather. Photo from 123RF.
When it comes to the lack of oxygen, it is difficult to speculate as to the minimum amount of oxygen that humans can survive on. People have even made it to the top of Mount Everest at 29,035 feet (8,850 metres) without the use of an oxygen tank! In 1986, a 35-year-old man stowed away in the wheel-well of a flight from Panama to Miami and survived the three-hour flight at 39,000 feet! Ten years later, a 22-year old man survived a 10-hour British Airways flight from Delhi to London, but suffered severe hypothermia (extreme cold); it is thought that he survived because his body went into a frozen state of suspension. The man’s younger brother, who had stowed away in the nose wheel compartment, wasn’t so fortunate.
About 75 per cent of stowaways fail to reach their destinations.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY NECESSARY
It is therefore imperative that security at airports around the world introduce even more stringent measures. These may cause annoyance for some travellers, but are paramount to the safety of guests, as well as those who may attempt such desperate feats.
Captain Lim Khoy Hing is a former AirAsia Airbus A320 and AirAsia X A330/A340 pilot who also used to fl y the Boeing 777. He has logged a total of more than 25,500 flying hours and is now a Simulator Flight Instructor with AirAsia X. In his spare time, he shares his opinion on aviation issues with others. For more air travel and aviation stories, check out his website, ‘Just About Flying’ at at www.askcaptainlim.com.
Captain Lim’s book, LIFE IN THE SKIES, which won third place in the Reader’s Choice Award at the Malaysia BookFest 2015, and its Mandarin version 【飞行日记】 are now available for purchase onboard all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights. Enjoy these great collections of articles by a veteran aviator.
