13-year-old survives 94 minutes in plane’s landing gear from Kabul to Delhi

Guwahati: A 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan managed to travel to Delhi hidden inside the landing gear compartment of a KAM Air flight from Kabul, officials said on Monday.

The episode came to light around 11 am on Sunday when KAM Airlines flight RQ-4401 landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport after a two-hour journey. Airline staff noticed the boy loitering near the aircraft shortly after touchdown and alerted airport security.

The boy, identified as a resident of Kunduz city, was apprehended and handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). During questioning, he admitted to sneaking into Kabul airport and climbing into the rear central landing gear compartment of the aircraft, claiming he did it out of "curiosity."

Following a brief inquiry, the teenager was repatriated to Afghanistan on the same aircraft, which departed around 12:30 pm on Sunday.

Security personnel later carried out extensive checks of the aircraft, including an anti-sabotage inspection of the landing gear compartment, where a small red speaker apparently belonging to the boy was recovered. The aircraft was subsequently declared safe.