A 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan stunned authorities when he arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after sneaking into the landing gear compartment of a passenger plane departing Kabul.
According to the Times of India, the boy, who is from Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province, slipped into Kabul Airport on the morning of September 21 and hid inside the wheel well of Kam Air flight RQ-4401 bound for Delhi. The flight landed roughly two hours later.
The teenager climbed out of the landing gear compartment once the plane stopped and was spotted wandering near the aircraft around 11 a.m. local time. Airport security detained him for questioning, during which he reportedly said he acted out of curiosity.
Kam Air security personnel then inspected the aircraft and found a small red speaker, believed to belong to the boy, inside the landing gear compartment. Further checks confirmed there was no security threat to the flight.
After questioning concluded, the teen was sent back to Kabul on the same plane at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
The daring incident went viral on social media. One user called it a “miracle,” noting that landing gear doors open during descent and could have thrown him out. Others expressed amazement that he survived extreme cold and strong winds at high altitude — with temperatures reaching -20°C — and praised his courage.
However, some criticized Indian authorities for not offering him asylum. “Everyone knows Afghanistan is not a safe place for women and children, yet no one even suggested giving this boy protection. This is a disgrace to our country,” one commenter wrote.
