Buzz
Stowing away on a plane is an incredibly dangerous choice. Unless you're extremely lucky to sneak into the cabin, survival is rare. The freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen at high altitudes make it almost impossible for the body to endure. Less than 25 percent of stowaways ever make it through the journey. Here are some of the few who managed to beat the odds.
10. Mario Steven Ambarita
Mario Ambarita was determined to meet Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo. Despite being over 800 miles away in his hometown, Ambarita hatched a plan to hitch a ride to Jakarta. He spent a year studying how airplanes take off and land, eventually learning from online sources how to hide in the wheel well— the compartment that holds the wheels when the plane is airborne. He dedicated ten days to learning everything he could about airport operations.
Ambarita was determined to succeed in his dangerous plan. He scaled an eight-foot security fence and waited for the plane bound for Jakarta. When the aircraft reached the end of the runway, he climbed into the wheel compartment. For almost two hours, Ambarita endured the thin air and freezing temperatures.
Once he landed at the airport, Ambarita collapsed from exhaustion. He was quickly taken to the hospital, where doctors found a bleeding ear and frostbite on his fingers. Miraculously, he suffered no permanent damage. He was then detained at the police station and spent a night in jail, but faced no further consequences.
9. Yahya Abdi
Yahya Abdi, a 15-year-old Somali immigrant, faced numerous challenges in adjusting to life in America. School was tough, and his relationship with his new stepmother was strained. Abdi longed for the home and family he had left behind eight years ago. Most of all, he missed his mother, whom his father had told him was dead. But when Abdi learned the truth—that his mother was alive in a refugee camp in Ethiopia—he was enraged. His father had taken the children without her knowledge.
Abdi ran away from home and made his way to an airport, where he managed to sneak aboard the first plane heading west. He spent five and a half hours hiding in the tight and uncomfortable wheel well. Early into the flight, he lost consciousness, but miraculously, he survived the low oxygen levels and freezing temperatures.
When the plane finally landed, Abdi jumped out but immediately collapsed. Disoriented, dehydrated, and barely able to stand, he was rushed to the hospital where he made a full recovery. Afterward, Abdi was able to speak with his mother for the first time in eight years, and both of them dream of one day being reunited.
8. Bas Wie
In 1946, 12-year-old Bas Wie had little hope for his future. An orphan from Indonesia, he worked in the kitchens of an airport just to survive. One day, he spotted a plane bound for Australia and decided to stow away on it. Wie remembered the kindness of the Australian soldiers who had shared bully beef and sweets with him, and he hoped that Australia would be kind to him again.
He managed to sneak into the wheel compartment, where he endured a grueling three-hour flight. The journey was far from comfortable: he was burned by the exhaust, suffered a deep shoulder wound, and endured the freezing blasts of air from the propellers. Afterward, he spent months recovering in the hospital from his injuries.
Once he was physically healed, Wie faced yet another challenge. At the time, Australia had a strict anti-Asian immigration policy, and many people wanted to send him back to Indonesia. Despite this, he was allowed to stay in the country for a better chance at life. Eventually, Wie was adopted by a local family, and twelve years later, he became an Australian citizen.
7. Fidel Maruhi
Fidel Maruhi was determined to turn his life around. After his mother's passing and being broke, he decided to start fresh in Paris, the city he considered the most beautiful in the world. Paris also had special significance for him because it was home to his idol, the famous soccer player Zinedine Zidane. Maruhi was eager to meet him in person.
Unfortunately, Maruhi lived in Tahiti, which was thousands of miles away from his dream destination, Paris. Knowing that he couldn't afford a plane ticket, he came up with the daring plan to stow away in the wheel well of an airplane. Maruhi boarded the plane without issue, but five minutes after takeoff, he fainted due to the lack of oxygen at high altitude.
Maruhi was discovered unconscious in Los Angeles, where the plane had a layover. His body was covered in grease, and the wind had shredded his clothes. Upon reaching the hospital, his body temperature was only 79 degrees, which is dangerously low—temperatures below 85 degrees are usually fatal. He spent the night under heat lamps and eventually recovered, though his foot remained numb as a result of the ordeal.
A few days later, he was sent back to Tahiti.
6. Andrei Shcherbakov
Fifteen-year-old Andrei Shcherbakov was desperate to escape his troubled home life. His father’s alcoholism and constant family arguments led him to take drastic measures. He hailed a taxi to the airport, found a hole in the fence, and crawled through it. Then, he climbed up to a large plane, sat on one of its tires, and fell asleep.
When Shcherbakov woke up, the plane was already airborne. The fear was overwhelming, and he fainted. Upon landing, he tried to climb out of the plane but collapsed from exhaustion. He couldn’t control his legs, and an ambulance rushed him to the hospital. His hands and feet had become so badly frostbitten and swollen that doctors struggled to remove his jacket and shoes.
Sadly, his family couldn’t afford the costly treatment in Moscow, so they had to take him back to Perm. There, he was placed in a local hospital, but the damage was severe. The exposure to minus 50-degree temperatures had caused tissue death, and doctors were forced to amputate both of his hands.
5. Armando Socarras Ramirez
In 1969, seventeen-year-old Armando Socarras Ramirez sought to escape Cuba. A year earlier, the government had sent him to a vocational school, but his classes were frequently interrupted by labor, such as planting sugarcane. Ramirez also lived with the constant fear of being drafted into the army. He dreamed of a better life beyond Cuba.
Ramirez met Jorge Perez Blanco, another teenager who shared his desire to flee. Together, they devised a plan to stow away in the wheel well of a plane bound for Madrid. The boys sneaked into an airport and waited for the perfect moment: when the plane paused before turning around for takeoff. They rushed to the wheels, but the space was so small that they had to separate—there was room for only one of them in the wheel well.
Ramirez squeezed into the tiny space, struggling to move as the wheels retracted. The deafening noise of the plane surrounded him. To ease his discomfort, he took some aspirin, but fortunately, he did not endure the agony for long. After just an hour, he passed out due to the lack of oxygen.
When the plane landed, Ramirez’s frozen body fell to the ground and he was rushed to the hospital. His temperature was so low that it didn't register on the thermometer. Miraculously, he survived, with doctors attributing his recovery to 'luck, luck, luck—many tons of luck.' His luck continued when he was allowed to move to Canada to live with relatives.
Sadly, Ramirez's friend was not as fortunate. Jorge Perez Blanco was not found on the plane when it landed. It is believed that he fell when the plane lowered its wheels for landing.
4. Emilio Dominguez
Emilio Dominguez struggled to find a reliable job in Honduras, so he decided to try his luck in the United States. He discovered a plane heading to Miami and managed to sneak into the airport. Dominguez hid inside the plane's wheel well, remaining concealed for over 24 hours.
The flight lasted only two hours, but for Dominguez, it must have felt much longer. He endured the entire journey shivering, wearing only a short-sleeve shirt, jeans, and work boots to fend off the freezing temperatures.
When the plane touched down, Dominguez dropped out of the wheel well and stumbled away. He was soon spotted by airport mechanics who handed him over to the police. To everyone's surprise, he appeared to be in good health. Despite the ordeal, Dominguez had no injuries, and his vital signs were strong—he didn’t even require hospital treatment. The plane he had chosen for his escape had been somewhat pressurized in the wheel well, which made breathing easier for him.
Dominguez was sent back to Honduras a few days after his arrival.
3. Charles McKinley
Charles McKinley was in a tough spot. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend, and to make matters worse, he was drowning in debt. McKinley longed to return home to his parents, but the 1,500-mile journey was far beyond his financial reach. He had no money or credit card—only a UPS charge card from his job.
One day, McKinley came across a large wooden crate on the side of the street and had an idea. Why not ship himself home? He called UPS and arranged for a pickup. Before the driver arrived, he removed two slats from the crate, squeezed through the gap, and then replaced the slats, concealing himself inside the box while he waited.
An hour later, McKinley was picked up, and there were no suspicions about his presence. His crate was loaded onto an airplane, and fortunately, it was placed in a pressurized hold. Had he been placed in an unpressurized hold, he would have died. During the flight, McKinley roamed around the hold, eventually slipping back into the box before the plane landed.
Once McKinley’s box was unloaded at the airport, it was taken to his family’s home. As the delivery driver started to offload the crate, some of the slats fell out. The driver noticed McKinley peeking through the gaps and immediately called the police.
At first, the police suspected that McKinley might be a terrorist. However, after a brief investigation, they quickly realized that he was just a man struggling with poverty. McKinley was convicted of misdemeanor stowaway, resulting in four months of house arrest and a $1,500 fine.
2. Osama R.M. Shublaq
Osama R.M. Shublaq was filled with dread. He had entered Malaysia on a social visit visa, but it was about to expire. Shublaq was desperate to avoid returning to Palestine. Though he had attempted to seek political asylum, his request had been denied, even though he came from a region plagued by conflict.
Determined to escape, Shublaq decided to travel to another country. He scaled a fence at a nearby airport and squeezed into the nose wheel well of an airplane. The plane was bound for Singapore, just a 55-minute flight away.
The short distance worked in his favor. Shorter flights don’t reach the high altitudes of longer journeys, which made breathing easier for Shublaq. Upon landing, he fell almost eight feet to the ground. Although a bit disoriented from his ordeal, he was otherwise unharmed.
Singapore sent Shublaq back to Malaysia, where he was charged with trespassing—a crime that could carry a two-year prison sentence. However, taking his difficult circumstances into account, the country showed compassion and dropped the charges, opting to return him to Palestine instead.
1. Victor Alvarez Molina
Victor Alvarez Molina, an airline worker, was shocked when his wife phoned him with a warning to escape Cuba. He took her advice seriously, and soon began planning his departure. Molina decided to flee to Montreal. He managed to hide inside a plane's wheel well, praying for the best. Clutching a photo of his daughter, he dreamed of a better life.
Molina endured a freezing, oxygen-deprived journey for four hours. Luckily, he was near a leaky heat pipe, which gave him just enough air and warmth to survive. He finally reached Montreal, exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, but very much alive.
The Canadian authorities showed compassion and allowed Molina to stay in the country. Had he been sent back to Cuba, his fate would have been grim—facing a harsh penalty of at least 15 years in prison or even the death sentence.
Molina soon adapted to life in Canada, securing a job at a car dealership and enrolling in French language courses. He remains hopeful that one day, his family will be able to join him.
