Stowaway survives flight from South Africa to Europe
Dutch police say a stowaway survived an 11-hour flight from South Africa by hiding in the wheel section of a plane.
The man was found alive when the cargo aircraft landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Sunday after it arrived from South Africa, the BBC reports.
It is believed the aircraft made one stop, in Nairobi, Kenya.
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A man was found at Schipol Amsterdam inside the landing gear of a cargo plane that had flown from Southern Africa. AP
Extreme cold and low oxygen at high altitudes make it hard for stowaways to survive long flights.
The man's age and nationality are not known, Dutch police say.
"The man was found alive in the nose wheel section of the plane and was taken to hospital in a stable condition," Royal Dutch Military Police spokeswoman Joanna Helmonds told the AFP news agency.
"It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive," she said.
A spokesperson for freight carrier Cargolux confirmed to Reuters that the stowaway had been on a flight operated by Cargolux Italia.
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In 2019 a stowaway fell from a plane's undercarriage as it approached London's Heathrow Airport. AP
Past attempts by stowaways to hide in aircraft landing gear having frequently ended in tragedy.
In July 2019, a stowaway fell from a plane's undercarriage into the backyard of a London home as it neared Heathrow Airport.
The man had fallen out of the landing gear from a flight from Nairobi in Kenya.
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