Survival at High Altitude: Wheel-Well Passengers

http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/aeromedical/aircraftaccident/wheelwell/

by akandiah • 12 years ago

16 4 12 years ago

FatalLogic• 12 years ago

hypothermia accompanies the deep hypoxia, preserving nervous system viability

That's fascinating. I wonder if it means a stowaway who kept themselves warm somehow would actually suffer more damage than one who was cold?

zomg• 12 years ago

personally, i love the conclusion, "Wheel-well stow-aways continue to be a problem and require prevention."

plg• 12 years ago

How would one even know that you wouldn't get squashed into a pulp when the wheel retracts back into the wheel well? Or where specifically to situate yourself?

roeme• 12 years ago

The retraction of the wheels happens relatively slowly (due to various engineering constraints); enough time to shuffle around.

Given the fact that they were able to get into the wheel well at all; I suppose they could've either inspected the/a well some time earlier, or even hid during a low-activity timeframe (night, etc.) before take-off (though I'd suspect they would've been discovered during pre-flight checks).

Once there, you don't need much spatial awareness to determine places to position yourself, IMO: http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/1/8/8/17...

Survival at High Altitude: Wheel-Well Passengers

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