[imagesource: Instagram / @onlyindade]
Miraculously, a 26-year-old man survived a very unorthodox plane ride from Guatemala to Miami.
He had spent at least two and a half hours in the landing gear of the plane as a stowaway, which is certainly one of the most dangerous ways that a person can travel.
You saw what happened to the many desperate Afghans who tried to latch on to US military cargo jet leaving Kabul.
The stowaway was found on Saturday, having made it safely to the ground as the plane touched down at the Miami International Airport just after 10AM.
Per CNN, he was apprehended by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, with law enforcement on the scene too, “due to a security issue”.
He was spotted completely dazed, standing in the shadow of the aeroplane, while airport personnel in reflective vests assisted him before the authorities arrived.
Some footage posted to Instagram shows him on the verge of collapse:
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The other Instagram video shows law enforcement and emergency medical services around him, giving him water and medical attention:
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The man was apparently taken to a nearby hospital for further medical attention.
While there was no official information given about why this man was so desperate to travel out of his home country, The Guardian mentions a possible reason:
Guatemala has accounted for a large portion of some 1,7 million migrants apprehended or expelled by US border agents over the past year, many of them Central Americans fleeing violent gangs and grinding poverty.
This infographic video gives one a pretty good idea of what happens to a stowaway hiding in the landing gear of a plane:
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 100 out of 129 people who have attempted to hide in the wheel wells or other areas of commercial planes since 1947 have died due to falling, injuries, or exposure.
It is truly amazing, then, that this 26-year-old man made it.
