Romanian stowaway

Romanian stowaway

A Romanian man has successfully stowed away on a flight in an external wheel compartment while sustaining minimal injuries.

With all the pressurization that you feel within the cabin during a flight, as well as the frost on the windows that indicate below-freezing temperatures outside of the plane, you would think that a person would never be able to survive outside without certain death. But this guy managed to survive the flight between Vienna and London relatively unharmed, barring some bruises and hypothermia. He wasn't deported or charged - after being taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police in the UK, he was released with no charges against him. He didn't even have to worry about immigration or anything because, as both Romania and the UK are part of the EU, Romanian citizens are allowed to travel freely to London. 

Under normal circumstances, this guy probably wouldn't have survived, so don't try it at home. The plane reportedly had to fly at lower altitudes than normal because of stormy weather, meaning that oxygen levels were still enough to sustain him. If the plane had flown at normal heights (i.e. higher), the lack of oxygen probably would have knocked him out or killed him, not to mention the effect of the colder temperatures at higher altitudes (it was already around -41F at the level the plane was at, so that was BUTT COLD as it was). If he had fallen unconscious, when the wheels came down again, he could have just fallen out and died that way, even if he had managed to find the right spot to hide in so that the wheels wouldn't have crushed him coming up in the first place.

Man, this guy is really lucky. He manages not to die while essentially being holed up outside of the plane for hours, and then he gets off scot-free with the police as well.

(via BBC)