On 27 November, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (registered N970NN) operated flight AA1182 between Guatemala City, Guatemala and Miami, United States. After an uneventful flight of around 2 hours and 30 minutes, ground staff in Miami discovered a stowaway hidden inside the main landing gear wheel well.
A video that appeared on social media (Twitter ONLYinDADE) show the 26-year-old extra passenger sitting on the ground and being helped by ground staff (scroll down for video).
“The individual was evaluated by Emergency Medical Services and taken to a Hospital for medical assessment,” a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “Persons are taking extreme risks when they try to conceal themselves in confined spaces such as an aircraft.”
Stowaways might suffer from lack of oxygen and/or hypothermia or might fall out when the landing gear gets lowered. The FAA says that a total of 129 people have attempted stowing away in aircraft since 1947, around 100 of them (78%) died during or after the flight.
The man will now be detained by authorities and might face a quick deportation back to Guatemala