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| One in four plane stowaways can survive, but London case is astonishing | One in four plane stowaways can survive, but London case is astonishing |
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| Given the number of desperate people attempting to reach Europe by land or sea on incredibly risky journeys, stowaways on aircraft are comparatively rare. But security at airports is usually tighter than at other borders, and the risks of an attempt are enormous, with the prospects of survival remote. | Given the number of desperate people attempting to reach Europe by land or sea on incredibly risky journeys, stowaways on aircraft are comparatively rare. But security at airports is usually tighter than at other borders, and the risks of an attempt are enormous, with the prospects of survival remote. |
| Related: Stowaway fell to death from plane on to London office after 8,000-mile flight | |
| The fact that one of the two men who secreted themselves on the eight-hour BA flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow has survived the journey, albeit in a serious condition in hospital, is astonishing. While neither the airline nor the police have yet confirmed it, the most likely scenario is that the stowaways would have hidden in the landing gear of the plane, exposing themselves to temperatures of -50C to -60C. | The fact that one of the two men who secreted themselves on the eight-hour BA flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow has survived the journey, albeit in a serious condition in hospital, is astonishing. While neither the airline nor the police have yet confirmed it, the most likely scenario is that the stowaways would have hidden in the landing gear of the plane, exposing themselves to temperatures of -50C to -60C. |
| There have been occasional previous recorded cases of people making it alive, on shorter flights at lower altitudes. That depends on the ability to survive low temperatures, and to cling on and remain conscious when the wheels come down on the approach to the airport. One of the two men on the BA flight appears to have been beyond the point of endurance by the time it was on its descent over Richmond, his body falling on to shops below. | There have been occasional previous recorded cases of people making it alive, on shorter flights at lower altitudes. That depends on the ability to survive low temperatures, and to cling on and remain conscious when the wheels come down on the approach to the airport. One of the two men on the BA flight appears to have been beyond the point of endurance by the time it was on its descent over Richmond, his body falling on to shops below. |
| US Federal Aviation Authority records suggest that at best one in four stowaways survives. Others die or fall in transit; most survivors suffer severe frostbite. | US Federal Aviation Authority records suggest that at best one in four stowaways survives. Others die or fall in transit; most survivors suffer severe frostbite. |
| Thursday’s tragic incident recalls the death of José Matada, who made a similarly desperate attempt to reach the UK from Angola in 2012, his body found on a pavement in East Sheen in south-west London. An inquest found he was either dead or at the point of death due to hypothermia and lack of oxygen when he fell from the plane. | Thursday’s tragic incident recalls the death of José Matada, who made a similarly desperate attempt to reach the UK from Angola in 2012, his body found on a pavement in East Sheen in south-west London. An inquest found he was either dead or at the point of death due to hypothermia and lack of oxygen when he fell from the plane. |
| Airport security is normally extremely tight, even in places where security outside the terminal is a problem. Airline and airport staff would normally perform pre-flight checks, including inspection of the wheel well, although airlines say security is ultimately the airport’s responsibility. Passengers and workers face numerous checks. But airport perimeter fences are also often surrounded by the poorest housing. | Airport security is normally extremely tight, even in places where security outside the terminal is a problem. Airline and airport staff would normally perform pre-flight checks, including inspection of the wheel well, although airlines say security is ultimately the airport’s responsibility. Passengers and workers face numerous checks. But airport perimeter fences are also often surrounded by the poorest housing. |
| Related: Stowaway death of man who died with a single pound in his pocket | |
| The last such incident on an arrival into Heathrow saw Luanda, the originating airport in the Angolan capital, say it would tighten security by having all international flights followed by a security patrol vehicle for evening departures, keeping the undercarriage in plain view. | The last such incident on an arrival into Heathrow saw Luanda, the originating airport in the Angolan capital, say it would tighten security by having all international flights followed by a security patrol vehicle for evening departures, keeping the undercarriage in plain view. |
| That this incident appears to have originated in Johannesburg, a major international airport, will worry airport security experts, who have pointed out that if a stowaway can reach a plane’s exterior and hide, planting an explosive could also be possible. |