Why did he miraculously survive by clinging to the airplane's wheel?

As reported, a 16-year-old boy miraculously survived after sneaking into the wheel well of an airplane to get a free trip from California, USA to the Hawaiian Islands. How did he remain unharmed after a five-hour flight in low temperatures and with a lack of oxygen?

Since 1947, statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aerospace Medicine Institute show that 105 people have stowed away in aircraft wheel wells, with only 25 surviving. Most of those fortunate cases were due to short flights at low altitudes. Therefore, the survival of a 16-year-old boy on a long flight at an altitude of 38,000 feet is truly miraculous.

If a person were inside the wheel well of an aircraft, they would face three main dangers: lack of oxygen, extremely low temperatures, and the risk of falling out of the wheel well.

Lack of oxygen will lead to unconsciousness and possible respiratory arrest at any time. Meanwhile, temperatures at an altitude of 38,000 feet can drop to minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26.7 degrees Celsius) – more than enough to freeze the water vapor in the body.

The boy was recently fortunate enough to enter a state of hibernation, where his metabolism almost completely stops, and his heart rate and breathing decrease significantly. Theoretically, if the body isn't very active, it doesn't need as much oxygen. This is how he was able to survive at temperatures as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit without brain damage.

In addition, the aircraft's wheel wells were equipped with several heat sources, according to the latest FAA report. This also contributed to the boy surviving the five hours on this terrifying flight.

In some hospitals, doctors sometimes have to freeze body parts to slow tissue damage, especially after patients have experienced a heart attack or stroke. However, this practice is still in its early stages.

Interestingly, the conditions on the flight from California, USA to the Hawaiian Islands were similar to those in a hospital. It could be said that deliberately sneaking into the wheel well of the airplane pushed the boy's body to a new limit of endurance. However, not everyone in the world is as fortunate as the case described above.

According to Vietnam+