Why flying in an airplane landing gear almost always ends in death: Three reasons
Recently, a stowaway was found in Paris on a flight from Algeria to France in the landing gear compartment. He survived but was in critical condition. This incident surprised many people because it is difficult for people to survive in such conditions.
Travelling on an airplane outside the cabin is always a bad idea, Simple Flying writes. The chances of survival are very small, despite the duration of the flight.
However, every year, desperate tourists around the world try to fly without tickets, hiding in the landing gear. Flying in unpressurized space is usually fatal for them for several reasons.
First, stowaways can die of hypothermia. At high altitudes, the air temperature drops to -63C, which leads to hypothermia. When the body loses heat faster than it produces it, it becomes life-threatening.
The second reason that can lead to a tragic death is a lack of oxygen and asphyxiation. It's impossible to stay in the air for a long time at such an altitude without oxygen tanks. It often happens that after the plane lands, bodies are found without signs of life.
We should not rule out the possibility that passengers could simply fall to death from the landing gear when the wheels are locked.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 132 people have attempted to fly in the landing gear compartments of commercial aircraft from 1947 to 2021.