"-60 Degrees, Low Oxygen": When 2 Indian Brothers Hid In Plane Landing Gear

An Afghan boy, 13, was discovered hiding in the landing gear of a KAM Airlines flight from Kabul to Delhi on Sunday.

After landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, airline staff found him near the aircraft and turned him over to CISF officials for questioning. The boy claimed curiosity motivated his actions. Security personnel found a small red speaker during inspection and conducted anti-sabotage checks before clearing the aircraft.

The boy was returned to Afghanistan on the same flight later that day.

This incident echoes a similar case from October 1996, when Punjabi brothers Pradeep Saini, 23, and Vijay Saini, 19, hid in a British Airways plane's wheel well at Delhi's airport. Working as car mechanics, they were fleeing allegations of connections to a Sikh separatist group and attempted to reach London without proper documentation or finances.

The brothers' journey exposed them to extreme conditions at 35,000 feet - temperatures of -60 degrees Celsius, dangerously depleted oxygen, deafening engine noise, and tremendous physical stress.

Tragically, Vijay Saini perished, falling from the descending aircraft approaching Heathrow, likely due to the harsh environmental conditions.

Pradeep Saini survived the 10-hour ordeal and was discovered disoriented on the runway after landing. He required hospitalization for severe hypothermia before being taken into custody.

Medical experts considered his survival extraordinary, suggesting that the combination of hypoxia and hypothermia may have induced a state resembling suspended animation that enabled him to withstand the extreme conditions. Following a lengthy legal process, he ultimately settled in the UK and now works at Heathrow Airport in London.

In 2015, another similar case occurred when Themba Cabeka (now known as Justin) survived a flight from Johannesburg to London hidden in landing gear, while his companion Carlito Vale died. Their experience was documented in "The Man Who Fell from the Sky."

The two men, seeking better opportunities, climbed into the aircraft without understanding the dangers of extreme cold and oxygen deprivation at high altitude. According to The Guardian, Cabeka survived because aircraft cabling secured him in place, though he sustained serious injuries, while Vale fell to his death before landing.