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Publication AbstractsSurvival at high altitude: Wheel-well passengers.Veronneau SJH, Mohler SR, Pennybaker AL, Wilcox BC, Sahiar F.Aviat Space Environ Med 1996; 67:784-6. AbstractThere have been 10 specific "wheel-well" passenger stowaway flights (the wheel-well area was entered just before take-off) documented in the N.Y. Times between 1947-1993. Five stowaways survived flights encompassing altitudes as high as 39,000 feet, with six dying in the process (one flight had two stowaways, one fatal, one surviving). Three Douglas DC-8 and four Boeing 707 aircraft, plus a Caravelle, an unknown jet and a piston airliner were involved. Several of the wheelwell flight stowaways were reportedly politically motivated to attempt these international flights. This paper describes the unpressurized flight conditions of extreme hypoxia and cold, inducing a virtual "hibernative" state. It is likely that similar attempts will continue, and alert airport security preventive measures are indicated.
Information on subscribing, and on obtaining copies of an article or of an entire issue. Table of Contents for Volume 67, Number 8 of the ASEM journal.
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