Miracle survival: 13 year old Afghan stowaway found alive in Airbus A340 wheel-well after Kabul–Delhi flight
September 24, 2025
A 13-year-old Afghan boy’s curiosity turned into a life-or-death ordeal when he stowed away in the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air Airbus A340 flying from Kabul to Delhi.
Airport officials said the incident unfolded on Sunday morning (September 22, 2025), when flight RQ-4401 touched down at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) after a 94-minute journey.
The service was being flown by YA-KME, a 25-year-old Airbus A340-300. Kam Air is one of the few remaining A340 operators in the world, flying four of the aircraft in an all-economy configuration.
Remarkably, the boy survived the high-altitude trip before being repatriated to Afghanistan later that day.
Officials reported the boy wandering near the aircraft after landing, prompting immediate intervention by airport security. Personnel from India’s Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) brought him to Terminal 3 for questioning.
The boy, from Kunduz city, around 250 km north of Kabul, told officials he had sneaked into Kabul airport and climbed into the rear central landing gear compartment “out of curiosity.”
After questioning, he was placed on a return flight at around 12:30 p.m. Security checks found only a small red speaker in his possession, and the aircraft was declared safe after full inspection.
Teen Afghan stowaway’s perilous journey hidden in aircraft landing gear
The case has been officially classified as a “wheel-well stowaway” incident, highlighting the extreme risks of attempting to travel inside an aircraft’s landing gear bay.
Conditions in the wheel-well are among the most hostile on an aircraft. Temperatures can plunge to below –50°C at cruising altitudes, oxygen levels are dangerously low, and the retraction of landing gear can crush anyone inside.
FAA records describe the compartment as a globally recognised hazard for stowaways.
Wheel-well stowaways: a deadly global phenomenon
Wheel-well stowaways are rare but not unprecedented.
In January 2025, two people were found dead in the landing gear of a JetBlue aircraft in Fort Lauderdale. Just weeks earlier, a body was discovered in the undercarriage of a United Airlines jet that landed in Hawaii on Christmas Eve.
Despite the dangers, some individuals continue to attempt the journey, often underestimating the risks posed by space constraints, extreme cold, and lack of oxygen.
How the young stowaway survived extreme flight conditions
Officials at IGI described the boy’s survival as “almost miraculous.” During the 94-minute flight, the Kam Air jet reached altitudes where survival without oxygen is highly unlikely.
The boy’s ability to remain conscious and avoid injury appears to have been down to a combination of sheer luck, physical resilience, and the relatively short flight time compared to longer international sectors.
Kam Air’s chief security officer spotted the boy walking on the taxiway shortly after landing and alerted the airport Security Operations Control Centre. The CISF conducted a detailed inquiry, confirming he had boarded undetected in Kabul.
Human story behind the headlines
While technically a major security breach, the case is also a stark human story. Afghan children, particularly in provinces like Kunduz, face instability, limited opportunities, and harsh daily realities.
Against this backdrop, the boy’s impulsive decision can be seen as both an act of curiosity and a reflection of the resilience and desperation of young lives in conflict-affected regions.
My three boys starved to death. I hope angels bring them home, says Afghan motherhttps://t.co/SjhkCH95tb
— Shehzad Younis شہزاد یونس (@shehzadyounis) September 22, 2025
Authorities treated the situation with both caution and empathy, ensuring the boy’s safe return. The aircraft was inspected thoroughly and cleared, while the boy was repatriated the same day.
As he returns home to Kunduz, his astonishing survival serves both as a reminder of the vulnerabilities of children in unstable regions and a window into their courage and resourcefulness under extreme circumstances.
