A 16-year-old smuggler escaped from the flight California - Hawaii, while he was hiding in wheel of the airplane. What happens to the human body under these conditions? Tara McKelvey by the BBC will give us the answers.
Ninety-six people today (or at least they are known) have been hiding on airplanes from 1947 to 2012, and according to the US Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, only 23 has survived.
During this 5-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean, at an altitude of 11.600 meters, the teenager reportedly lost consciousness - which is not surprising, given the lack of oxygen in the brain. "You would be short of breath and unconscious," said Peter Hackett, director of Altitude Medicine in Telluride, Colorado. "It would not be pleasant."
Another problem for smugglers on an airplane is the cold - with low temperatures reaching - 62 oC. "In such a cold state, the heart does not pump much blood," says Hackett. "And the blood that exists goes to the brain, from one point onwards it falls into a varied state," according to the authors. of the 1996 report (PDF) for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It very much resembles a phase of hibernation when the body needs less oxygen than normal. Heart rate and breathing slow down dramatically.
Stowaways can also suffer from decompression, caused by a sharp drop in pressure around them. Thus, air bubbles begin to form in their tissues and blood vessels slowing down blood flow.
But young people are more likely to survive. The authors of the FAA report said that a "young, slender" person has a better chance of surviving than someone who is heavy.
In 2000, a man survived a seven-hour flight from French Polynesia to Los Angeles. "He was sprayed with oil from the landing gear and his clothes were torn to pieces," according to the Los Angeles Times. Others lose their lives when the landing gear goes down.
"No one can be sure," said Michael Yaron, a professor at the University of Colorado, when asked about the boy in Hawaii. "Miracles also happen. The child was lucky. "
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
