Stowaway from Guatemala survives flight to US hiding in plane’s landing gear
- A social media video showed Miami airport crew finding the man, who had stowed away in the landing gear of an American Airlines flight for nearly three hours
- More than two-thirds of people who have attempted to stow away on commercial aircraft die from injuries or exposure, according to the Federal Aviation Authority
A man who stowed away in the landing gear of an American Airlines flight from Guatemala was discovered by airport crew in Miami on Saturday – apparently after the plan had already arrived at the gate.
The man, who came off of American Airlines flight 1182, which landed about 10am local time on Saturday, was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
A video posted on Instagram by Miami local social news site Only in Dade said the flight took about two hours and 30 minutes. A maintenance worker who recorded it declined to speak on the record for fear that he would lose his job.
American Airlines said in a statement the flight “was met by law enforcement due to a security issue. We are working with law enforcement in their investigation”.
Samuel Orozco, a spokesman for the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics, Guatemala’s civil aviation authority, said the matter was still under investigation in the Central American country and could not provide further details at this time.
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The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the law enforcement agency charged with enforcing US federal laws concerning border control, customs, trade, and immigration, could not be reached for comment.
Dan Vasquez, a member of the content team at Only in Dade said, “We received this video and spoke to the person that took it, he was very scared and it is unbelievable that someone would survive this.”
“Can you imagine that kind of wind pressure?” Vasquez said.
The Federal Aviation Authority told a local NBC affiliate that “as of February 2021, 129 people have attempted to stow away in the wheel wells or other areas of commercial aircraft worldwide since 1947. Of those, 100 people – about 78 per cent – died of injuries or exposure during the flight”.
In recent years, Guatemala has been one of the main sources of undocumented migrants coming into the US over the southern border. It was the largest source in 2019, as migrants were fleeing widespread government corruption, poverty and violence.
This year, Mexico has been the single most common origin country for migrants at the southern border, followed by Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, according to the Pew Research Centre.
