The truth about aircraft stowaways – could you survive in the cargo hold of a plane?
Marilyn Jean Hartman, also known as America’s ‘serial stowaway’, has been hopping on planes without a ticket for years – and her latest stunt took her to London. She was arrested last week following a rogue journey from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Heathrow.
Depending on which source you believe, this is somewhere between the sixth and 10th time Ms Hartman has been caught boarding a plane without a boarding pass or passport. The first reported case was in 2014, when she tried to board a flight to Hawaii, followed by several attempts in the same year to jump on a plane to San Jose, before she actually made it to Los Angeles (where she was arrested). In 2015, she managed to fly to Florida from Minnesota, before getting arrested at O’Hare International in both 2015 and 2016.
How easy is it to get past airport security?
Not as hard as you might imagine, if Hartman’s success rate is anything to go by. The 66-year-old pensioner reportedly attempts to blend in with big groups to bypass security. But several stowaways before her have resorted to more creative ways to get onto a plane, such as in 2011 when a Nigerian man was able to travel on a Virgin Atlantic flight from New York to LA using an out-of-date boarding pass.
Olajide Olwaseun Noibi was eventually taken into custody in LA after attempting to board a second flight using the same invalid boarding pass. Police found a further 10 boarding passes in his possession, none of which bore his real name.
In 2009, Habib Hussain, a 25-year-old member of staff at Medina Airport in Saudi Arabia, boarded a aircraft bound for Jaipur, India, on the pretence of cleaning it. He hid in the loo, and was only discovered after take off when another passenger attempted to use the facilities.
Who is ultimately responsible for airport security breaches?
It depends on the type of breach and the route. Back in November, Manchester Airport came under fire following an alleged “major security breach” during which they were mistakenly led to departures rather arrivals after disembarking the plane.
“As it is the responsibility of airlines and airport operators to ensure that passengers arriving in the UK are directed through the correct prescribed route, as the Dft [the Department of Transport], we wouldn’t comment further,” a spokesperson for the DfT told Telegraph Travel.
“Airports are responsible for arrangements to ensure the security of their operations and passengers. We cannot comment on specific details of the security arrangements in place at individual airports, but any potential breach is taken very seriously,” a spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told Telegraph Travel in a statement.
“The Department for Transport is responsible for the security of UK airports. Their policies are implemented at each airport by the airport security staff. Airlines and travel companies do not set these rules,” the CAA states on its website.
“Although all airports must adhere to relevant aviation security requirements, security procedures may vary from airport to airport. More information can be found on the website of the airport you are flying from, and usually from that of your airline or travel company,” the CAA said.
How risky is it to travel in the cargo hold of a plane?
The hold (where luggage and pets are kept) is pressurised, so the same air used to condition the cabin is used for the hold.
“Many are surprised to hear that the cargo hold in the belly of an airliner is pressurised,” Doug Morris, an Air Canada pilot, said.
“Conditioned air is directed from the cabin, so the air tends to be a little cooler by the time it reaches the cargo areas, which are also less insulated than the cabin. Cargo temperatures vary in our fleet. The Boeing 767 maintains its baggage hold above 7˚C, but the bulk area (where animals are carried) can be heated above 18˚C.
“Controlled temperature cargo bins are also available when temperature-sensitive goods are being shipped.”
Last year, a baggage handler emerged unscathed from an hour’s flight trapped in the cargo hold of an aircraft.
Can stowaways survive beneath the plane?
It is highly unlikely. Those who hide in the wheel arches risk freezing to death, as when the aircraft rises to 35,000 feet, temperatures drop to as low as –54˚C. But it isn't unheard of.
Back in 2010, a 20-year-old Romanian man survived temperatures of –41˚C inside the landing gear of a Boeing 747 on a 97-minute flight from Vienna to Heathrow. He slipped under a perimeter fence at Vienna Airport before climbing into a wheel compartment on board the empty, privately-owned aircraft. A police source said the plane would normally have flown at 37,000 feet, but due to thunderstorms it stayed at an altitude of 25,000 feet, just low enough for the man to survive.
