In Afghanistan, a 13-year-old boy slipped into the country's capital Kabul airport, hid himself in the landing gear compartment of a passenger plane bound for Delhi, India, and arrived at Delhi airport.
According to the Times of India (TOI) and others on the 23rd, the boy, from Kunduz Province in northern Afghanistan, snuck into Kabul airport on the morning of the 21st and hid in the landing gear (the equipment including the aircraft wheels needed for takeoff and landing) of Kam Air flight RQ-4401, which was waiting to depart for Delhi.
The passenger plane took off, flew for two hours, and landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. After arrival, the boy got out from the landing gear area and loitered beside the aircraft before being found by airport authorities at about 11 a.m. the same day and questioned.
During questioning, the boy was said to have explained that he did it out of curiosity.
Kam Air's security team conducted a safety inspection of the aircraft and, in the process, found and retrieved a small red audio speaker in the landing gear area believed to belong to the boy. The passenger plane's safety was said to be unaffected.
Authorities sent the boy back to Afghanistan on the same flight that departed at about 12:30 p.m. that day.
As the news spread, internet users reacted by saying, "How did he endure strong winds and a temperature of minus 20 degrees during the flight?" and "If the landing gear opens during landing, you get flung out—surviving that is a miracle."