NEW DELHI: A 13-year-old Afghan boy who survived a perilous journey hidden inside the wheel bay of a Kabul-Delhi flight was deported back to Afghanistan on Sunday evening, authorities confirmed to the TNIE.
The boy, who mistakenly believed the aircraft was bound for Iran, boarded KAM Air flight RQ4401 from Hamid Karzai International Airport and stowed away in the rear wheel well. The Airbus A340 landed safely at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) around 10:20 am, following a 94-minute flight.
His incredible yet dangerous journey raised alarms across Indian and Afghan aviation security establishments.
Sources said the teenager tailed legitimate passengers to bypass security checks in Kabul and entered the aircraft undetected. Security footage later showed him emerging from the aircraft’s wheel bay after landing. A ground handler at Terminal 3 spotted the boy wandering the restricted apron area and alerted authorities.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) detained the minor, and he was later questioned by immigration officials, CISF personnel, and local police.
“He was sent back on the same airline, KAM Air, Sunday evening at 3:31 pm,” an airport security official said.
“Since he is a minor and entered the country without a visa, he was not penalised. The priority was to return him safely to his family.”
Another official indicated that the deportation decision was taken after high level discussions. Standard procedures were followed in repatriating the boy, who has since reached Kabul.
Experts have called the boy’s survival “nothing short of miraculous.”
Aviation safety analyst Capt. Mohan Ranganathan explained: “The wheel bay typically lacks pressurization and heating. But if he was inside the enclosed section when the landing gear retracted, he might have been protected from fatal conditions.”
Dr. Ritin Mohindra, from PGIMER Chandigarh, said survival at 30,000 feet is extremely rare.
“At those altitudes, oxygen levels plummet, and temperatures fall to between -40 degrees Celsius and -60 degrees Celsius. Unconsciousness can set in within minutes; death soon follows.”
Globally, only about 20 per cent of stowaways who hide in wheel bays survive due to risks including hypoxia, hypothermia, frostbite, and mechanical injury.
The incident has also raised concerns about lapses in security screening at Kabul airport, prompting calls for stricter checks.