“Hitchhiking on the side of the road is for plebeians, pros use airplane wheels!” May have been the thoughts of the 16-year-old teenager hitchhiker right before passing out of oxygen deprivation; the youth flew 2,467 miles from San Jose, Calif., to Maui, tucked inside the wheel well of a Boeing 767. Traveling at altitudes of 38,000 feet, unprotected by a control cabin environment, is liable to do that to you, along with exposing you to frigid air temperatures of negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Surviving such harsh conditions requires seemingly inhuman luck, making this case particularly curious. Scientists reckon that the elements most likely to have killed the boy are what saved his life in the first place, and allowed him to enter a state of suspended animation. “The boy most likely lost consciousness due to low oxygen level as plane ascended, and then, the low temperatures probably put his cells into a frozen state,” said Dr. Evelina Grayver, a cardiologist at North Shore University, to Live Science.
Other experts such as aviation consultant Jim Nance are skeptical, stating that surviving at those altitudes with minimal oxygen is impossible, “somebody surviving at 35,000 feet for five hours with no supplemental oxygen supply; I just don’t believe it.” However, a total 105 people have attempted to fly inside an airplane’s wheel well since 1947, and only 25 of them survived ─ one of whom was a 9-year-old boy. Perhaps the case to be made is that younger bodies are more malleable, free of heart disease or congenital heart defects, and thus, better responders to “human hibernation.”
The teen miraculously did not suffer any injuries. Image courtesy of CNN.
When oxygen levels plummet, brain cell functions begin to waver, causing nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, organ failure, and even brain swelling. In the case of the 16-year-old stowaway, this factor may have actually worked in his favor, as younger brains are easier to riel from states of unconsciousness. Other evidence indicates that genetics may have played a role, clarifying why some people are more susceptible to altitude-related sickness than others. This could also explain why the boy regained consciousness upon returning to sea-level.
Enduring negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit for five consecutive hours should have left the teen completely riddled with frostbite, effectively killing him. A recent study published by Wright State University speculates that heat from hydraulic lines powering the wheels and residual heat from the tires could have warmed up the well, preventing this from happening, but the odds of this are extremely unlikely.
A more likely theory suggests that the cold actually helped the teen survive the journey. The combination of extreme cold coupled with lack of oxygen may actually have put the body in a state of hibernation, slowing the heart rate and metabolism to a crawl. “When an organism suspends its biological processes, it cannot do anything wrong,” agrees Dr. Grayver. Research conducted on near-drownings in lakes seems to support this theory, finding that a common element among survivors was exposure to extremely cold temperatures and oxygen deprivation.
Regardless, surviving against low air pressure, and low oxygen is an amazing feat of human biology. The 25% survival rate of airplane wheel well stowaway highlights how lucky the Cali-to-Maui teenage hitchhiker was, if his story can be confirmed.
Via Time, LiveScience
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