From Kabul to Delhi, Afghan teen survives deadly ride in plane's wheel well

The boy, a resident of Kunduz, Afghanistan, reportedly sneaked into Kabul airport on Sunday morning and managed to hide inside the rear wheel well of a KAM Air (RQ-4401) flight bound for New Delhi

When was the last time you heard about someone travelling on a flight—without actually being inside it? You might recall Tom Cruise’s daring stunt in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. That was Hollywood. In real life, a 13-year-old Afghan boy made a leap into the jaws of danger, hiding in the rear wheel well of an aircraft in a journey from Kabul to New Delhi.

 

The boy, a resident of Kunduz, Afghanistan, reportedly snuck into Kabul airport on Sunday morning and managed to hide inside the rear wheel well of a KAM Air (RQ-4401) flight bound for New Delhi. After more than 90 minutes in the freezing, airless compartment, the plane touched down at Delhi airport at around 10.20 am, reported The Indian Express.

 

Soon after the landing, airport staff spotted him and alerted the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). “Upon inquiry, it turned out that he hid in the rear central landing gear compartment (rear wheel well) of the aircraft. He is from Kunduz city, Afghanistan. Subsequently, an aircraft security check was conducted by the airline’s security and engineering staff, during which a small red-coloured audio speaker was found in the rear landing gear area,” the CISF said.

 

The boy was then taken to immigration department officials at the airport. After detailed questioning, he was sent back on the same aircraft at 4 pm, the CISF said.

 

However, New Delhi was not his intended destination. According to The Indian Express, citing sources, the boy had planned to travel to Iran but accidentally boarded the flight to Delhi.

 

Stowing away on an aircraft is extremely dangerous and rare, but history shows it has happened before. Between 1947 and 2021, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data recorded 132 attempts. In one notable case in 1996, two Indians hid in the wheel well of a British Airways flight from Delhi to London—one survived, while the other did not, reported The Indian Express.