ibn sultan
A 13-year-old boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, reached India’s Delhi airport on Sunday by hiding in the rear wheel of a plane.
The boy survived the 94-minute journey and ‘landed’ safely at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in stable physical condition.
The incident occurred on flight RQ4401, operated by Afghanistan’s KAM Air.
The incident came to light when a ground handler at T3 taxiway spotted the boy walking in the restricted apron area, after the flight landed and passengers had disembarked. He alerted authorities.
The Central Industrial Security Force took the boy into custody, and later handed him over to airport police. As a minor, the boy is immune from legal charges, a source confirmed.
According to sources, the Airbus A340 departed Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul at 8:46 am IST and landed at Terminal 3 at 10:20 am. A security source said the boy, clad in a kurta and pyjama, intended to sneak into Iran but boarded the wrong flight. The teenager admitted to tailgating passengers at Kabul airport to access the flight, then hid in the wheel well during boarding. “This raises serious concerns about the security screening processes at Kabul airport,” the source noted.
