16-year-old California runaway survives flight to Hawaii in plane's wheel well

Fox News ^ | 4/21/2014

[Freeport]

From the NASA Standard Atmosphere model the atmospheric pressure at sea level is 760 mmHg with an oxygen concentration of 21%.

The partial pressure of oxygen would then be:
760 * 0.21 = 159 mmHg.

So the amount of the atmosphere, in pressure, that a person could use at sea level is 159 mmHg.

At 36,000 ft., the total atmospheric pressure is about 20% that of sea level, so the useful amount of oxygen, assuming the same 21% of the atmosphere is oxygen at that altitude is:
760 * 0.2 * 0.21 = 31.92 mmHg
or just 20% of that found at sea level.

So? What does that mean... That this kid is EXTREAMLY lucky on several fronts: Not to have frozen solid, not to have a blood embolism from the rapid pressure change (The bends), and not to have suffocated.

[Uncle Chip]

So security footage verified that he hopped a fence in San Jose and then he was wandering around on the tarmac in Maui airport.

Is there any other way he could have gotten on that flight because it is hard to believe that he could have survived in that wheel well.

[dfwgator]

No way this happened.

[PapaBear3625]

If somebody can stick himself into a wheel well, he can also stick a backpack bomb into the wheel well. Heads should roll over this.

[SamAdams76]

Apparently there is some residual heat in the wheel well of a plane that would keep the compartment from achieving the true outside temperature. It makes sense because you would think that the hydraulics (that lower the wheels during descent) would have issues functioning if they were allowed to get to -67 degrees. Maybe there is some heat pumped in there to keep that from happening. If that is the case, then likely enough oxygen and air pressure was involved as well to keep this boy alive - though he did pass out from what I understand.

There are other cases of stowaways in wheel wells. It appears that the greatest danger is either being crushed to death as the wheels retract after take off or falling out of the wheel well during landing as the wheels are deployed when the plane is still several thousand feet in the air. If you are passed out during that time, it is likely you would fall into the ocean and never be found - so this might happen more often then you realize.

I can see why the airline industry would not want to publicize the fact that you could theoretically survive this as they do not want to encourage future stowaways.

[dfwgator]

The heat isn’t the issue, it’s the lack of oxygen.

[SamAdams76]

Well I assume that once the wheels are retracted, the wheel compartment is sealed. Thus, there could be enough oxygen (and residual heat) to keep somebody alive for a few hours. There is no other reasonable explanation.

[Menehune56]

I don’t believe the story of him being in the wheel well and surviving. If anything he was in the baggage hold and they want to keep that under wraps.

I agree this is the most likely explanation, especially the part about the authorities suppressing the true story.

[PghBaldy]

Rosie Ruiz.

[PghBaldy]

An elaborate hoax? I have trouble believing this kid did this as he said.

[Moonman62]

I can see why the airline industry would not want to publicize the fact that you could theoretically survive this as they do not want to encourage future stowaways.

Also, airlines would start selling them as economy seats.

[Dagnabitt]

I was once in California. Later I was in another state.

The only explanation must be that I rode in an airplane wheel well.

[Dagnabitt]

Looks cozy, but where does the folding tray table come out?

[TXnMA]

Unbelievable, indeed. In addition to the effects or cold and hypoxia, wheel well stowaways are often turned into hamburger crunch by the wheel retraction mechanism...

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

You know they will insist that he was in the wheel well.

[dennisw]

They see this in some stupid movie and try it themselves