Kenyan man survives flight to Amsterdam stowed in plane landing gear

'It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive,' stowed away in the landing gear of a Cargolux Boeing 747. Photo / 123RF

A man has survived a 9-hour flight in the undercarriage of a flight from South Africa, Dutch Police have confirmed.

The 22-year-old Kenyan was discovered on Sunday at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on a plane arrived from Johannesburg. He is believed to have boarded via the landing gear of the 747 cargo plane.

He is conscious and able to answer questions from the hospital where he is receiving medical treatment, reported the BBC.

It is understood the man plans to apply for asylum in the Netherlands.

The Cargolux Italia flight took eleven hours from South Africa with a brief stopover in Nairobi, Kenya. However it is not known whether he boarded in Johannesburg or during this stopover, which would have been an 11-hour ordeal.

The lack of oxygen and low temperatures mean that few stowaways survive at high altitudes. The cruising altitude of a Boeing 747 cargo plane is over 10,000 metres.
Seven stowaways have been discovered at Dutch airports over the past five years, only two were found alive.

"The man was found alive in the nose wheel section of the plane and was taken to hospital in a stable condition," Royal Dutch Military Police spokesperson told the AFP.

"It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive," she said.

A spokesperson for freight carrier Cargolux confirmed to Reuters that the stowaway had been on a flight operated by Cargolux Italia.

Schiphol declined to speak to the media about the incident.