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Russian Kid Survives Ride on the Wing of a Boeing 737?
Several news agencies are reporting on the story of a 15-year-old Russian boy who climbed onto the wing of a Boeing 737 and hung on for two hours as the plane flew 800 miles to Moscow. Is it even physically possible to hold onto something when traveling at over 500 miles per hour especially when the temperature routinely drops down to -58 Fahrenheit at cruising altitude? "His arms and legs were so severely frozen that rescuers were at first unable to remove his coat and shoes," according to the Russian News and Information Agency.
I have a hard time believing it, and so does the Moscow Times. Its report reads a bit differently:
"A 15-year-old boy is recovering with severe frostbite after hiding in the wheel well of a plane flying from Perm to Moscow, Tvoi Den reported Monday."
That sounds a little more likely. Even so, the wheel well can be a very dangerous place to hide, and many people have been found dead while attempting to stow away. He's a lucky kid.
Filed under: Russian Federation, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
foxxydrummer Oct 1st 2007 1:09AM
Hanging on to a wing is impossible at 500 MPH. And the wheel well version is impossible also. A 73 doesn't have a conventional wheel well. The main gear folds directly into the fuselage, with less than 6 inches of clearance around the wheels when they're stowed, and no doors around the main gear. Sounds like this is going to be another urban legend.
byronbcole1 Oct 1st 2007 3:12AM
oh those russian always making things up
Sunn Oct 1st 2007 1:45AM
Ok, there " aint" a whole big enough to put this stuff in
Bruce Oct 1st 2007 2:24AM
Let's see...-58 degrees with a wind of 500 MPH. That's one heck of a wind chill factor. He'd be frozen solid in seconds. Just the opposite of a blast furnace. If it sounds unbelievable it probably is. I agree with the comment that someone would have see him hanging onto the wing. I might be able to believe the tire well story.
mouthy Oct 1st 2007 2:31AM
wait...dont forget i base jumped from the wing of the space shuttle to...had a little frost bite and a small issue with that crazy thing called oxygen..but you know...dumb ass free press will print anything..and i guess i will comment on anything as well...double edge sword.
Ann Oct 1st 2007 4:11AM
TG this kid is still alive! but.....truly UNbelievable.
Michelle Oct 1st 2007 5:16AM
who cares if he was on the wing or in the wheel well? i'm glad he seems to have survived but even if he didn't, the most startling detail of this story is that, post-9-11, someone got through security and was able to approach an aircraft without anyone knowing! this could have been a terrorist planting a bomb in the wheel well and not a desperate stow-away!!!
i'll remember not to travel to russia until they have this security issue resolved.
mike gonos Oct 2nd 2007 7:13AM
nybody knows that.
mike gonos Oct 6th 2007 1:44AM
nybody knows that.
Brutuss100 Oct 1st 2007 8:24AM
I agree with Tom G. There's no way this kid could've survived this flight without oxygen (the cutoff is actually at 10,000 feet, but correct nonetheless).
Eugene Jones Oct 1st 2007 9:06AM
I just wanted to see if I remembered my password, I don't know a thing about that story.
Dee Oct 1st 2007 10:12AM
I'm not an engineer...but from what I understand, airplane wings are precisely engineered stuctures, accurately shaped to make flight possible. Wouldn't an extra bump on the wing throw off the aerodynamics of the plane? And wouldn't the pilot notice if the plane "leans" to one side?
mike gonos Oct 2nd 2007 6:35AM
how did the flihght attendant get him his free soda & peanuts.? Where dId hE keEp HIS CARRYon lluggagE.
tHIS IS WHAT THE RUSSKIES CALL THIRD CLASS
Ben Nov 8th 2007 5:33AM
Thats a load of BS, 1. He would have disrupted the airflow on the wing causing heavy bank to one side 2. people would have seen him 3. On landing the spoilerons would have pushed him off.. Its a load of shit.