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 to date (or at least they are known) have stowed away in airplanes from 1947 through 2012, and according to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute of USA, only 23 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 oxygeny in the brain. "You would be out of breath and pass out," says Peter Hackett, director of Altitude Medicine in Telluride, Colorado. "It wouldn't be pleasant."
Another problem for stowaways on a plane it's the cold – with temperatures as low as – 62 oC. "In such a cold state, the heart doesn't pump much blood," Hackett says. "And the blood that is there goes to the brain, from one point and then falls into a hypothermic 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 sudden drop of the pressure around them. So air bubbles begin to form in their tissues and blood vessels, slowing blood flow.
But young people have a better chance of survival. Its editors reportFAA officials reported that a "young, thin" person has a better chance of survival 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. "
