Afghan boy, 13, lands in Delhi by hiding in landing gear of flight from Kabul

After detailed questioning and review by all authorities concerned, the child was repatriated the same day, officials said

A 13-year-old boy from northern Afghanistan travelled from Kabul to Delhi in the wheel well of an aircraft on Sunday morning and was sent back home on the next flight to Kabul within hours after security agencies cleared him, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

A safety check was carried out by the airline security and engineering staff, during which a small red-coloured speaker was found in the rear landing gear area of the plane that came from Kabul to Delhi, officials said. (Bloomberg/Representative photo)

The incident came to notice at approximately 11:10 a.m. on Sunday, when Kam Airlines flight RQ-4401, operating on the Kabul-Delhi sector, arrived in the national capital, with the boy having survived the 94-minute high-altitude journey.

Soon after, the airline’s chief security officer noticed a boy walking on the taxiway near the aircraft and alerted the airport’s Security Operations Control Centre. He was taken in for questioning at Terminal-3 of the airport by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the security agencies were alerted about the incident.

During his questioning, it transpired that the boy was from Kunduz province of Afghanistan, about 250 km north of Kabul.

CISF officials said it appeared that he had managed to sneak into the Kabul airport, find his way to the aircraft and boarded.

There, he got inside the aircraft’s rear central landing gear — an exercise globally termed as a “wheel-well stowaway”, wherein individuals attempt to make journeys by hiding themselves in the aircraft’s landing gear compartment which is also known as the wheel bay or undercarriage.

“The boy was questioned for several hours before being sent back to Kabul via another flight at around 4 pm on the same day. He said he managed to sneak inside the airport and the landing gear, without being detected,” said the CISF official.

A second airport official said a detailed check of the aircraft was also carried out, including the landing gear compartment, and a red speaker was found. “It likely was carried by the boy with him,” the official added, stating the aircraft cleared all security checks.