Afghan teen’s Sunday ride: Kabul to Delhi in plane’s landing gear ‘out of curiosity’

Curiosity killed the cat, goes the proverb. A 13-year-old Afghan boy’s “curiosity” took him to Delhi all the way from Afghanistan, concealed inside the landing gear compartment of an aircraft that departed from Kabul. Luckily for him, the boy survived, and he has been sent home.

The incident was reported around 11 am on Sunday (21 September) when Kam Air flight RQ-4401 landed at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport following a two-hour journey. The teenager was repatriated to Afghanistan the same day, on the return flight, sources told news agency PTI.

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Afghan teen stows away

In aviation, such incidents are globally referred to as "wheel-well stowaways", where individuals hide inside an aircraft’s wheel bay or undercarriage.

These attempts are extremely perilous due to freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen at cruising altitude, and cramped space. Most such attempts end in fatalities, typically from hypothermia.

At IGI Airport, as the aircraft taxied, the airline’s chief security officer spotted the boy walking on the taxiway near the plane. The airline authorities informed the airport security control room about a 13-year-old boy found near the plane after it had landed.

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Sent back on same flight

He was quickly apprehended by airline personnel and handed over to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials, who questioned him for several hours at Terminal 3.

The boy, a native of Kunduz city, told officials he had sneaked into Kabul airport and climbed into the aircraft’s rear central landing gear compartment, claiming he acted out of curiosity. After questioning, he was sent back on the same flight, which departed around 12.30 pm.

During a security check of the landing gear, Kam Air officials recovered a small red speaker apparently carried by the boy. The aircraft was declared safe following a thorough inspection and anti-sabotage checks, officials said.