Teenager Stowaway Survives Eight-Hour Flight
Joe Cortez June 01, 2016
Chinese teenager arrested upon arrival in Dubai after flying in cargo hold.
A Chinese teenager is facing questions from authorities in his home country and Dubai after he was found in the cargo hold of an Emirates Airbus A380. The Associated Press reports the 16-year-old male was arrested after arriving at Dubai International Airport (DXB) on Friday, May 27.
The stowaway was found on the aircraft operating Emirates Flight 303, from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to DXB. Prosecutors for the case speaking to the state-run news agency Xinhua claim the teen allegedly jumped a fence at PVG in order to climb into the cargo hold undetected to security guards. FlightRadar24 reports the A380 flight landed in Dubai at 1:47 a.m. local time, flying for over eight hours.
According to Xinhua, the teen may have been attracted to the Middle East nation on rumors of beggars earning hundreds of thousands of yuan annually (over $15,000 per year). In a statement, the airline confirmed the incident aboard EK303.
“We are cooperating fully with authorities in Dubai,” the airline statement to the Associated Press read. “As this is a police matter, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Stowing away commercial aircraft can be a dangerous practice, as travelers are exposed to low oxygen and extremely cold temperatures. Last year, three people died as a result of stowing away aboard commercial aircraft, including one that fell from a British Airways flight. However, at least two other cargo hold stowaways have survived their experiences this year, including an Ethiopian who flew to Sweden to apply for asylum and an Alaska Airlines contractor who fell asleep in an aircraft.
It is uncertain what charges the teenager will face, either in Dubai or his home country. In 2015, Chinese authorities announced they would punish flyers who misbehaved while away from home.
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Crazy article - the pressure structure of the airplane is the outer hull, everything inside there has comparable atmospheric pressure. Temperature and ventilation can vary won't be greatly different in the average. On some LH airbus 340s, there are even lavatories and crew bunks in the cargo hold.
"Stowing away commercial aircraft can be a dangerous practice, as travelers are exposed to low oxygen and extremely cold temperatures." -- Not in the cargo hold. Please erase this misleading paragraph from the article. "Is the temperature below freezing in the cargo hold?" -- Not at all. The temperature and air pressure in the cargo hold and in the passenger cabin(s) is the same. As you said, the undercarriage is the crazy place to be.
Is the temperature below freezing in the cargo hold? Doesn't seem likely -- all sorts of packed liquid with freeze and break their containers. Eight hours a little above freezing would be uncomfortable, but hardly a threat to one's health.
Dogs can handle extremely low temperatures much better than humans. Ever seen the Alaskan dog sled races? The humans are wrapped in layers and layers, but the dogs just have their normal fur.
What's so dangerous about a cargo hold? Big dogs go down there, right? The undercarriage is the crazy place to be.