HONOLULU — Officials say a 15-year-old boy is “lucky to be alive” and unharmed after flying from California to Hawaii stowed away in a plane’s wheel well, surviving cold temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen.
“Doesn’t even remember the flight,” FBI spokesman Tom Simon said Sunday night. “It’s amazing he survived that.”
The boy was questioned by the FBI after being discovered on the tarmac at the Maui airport Sunday morning with no identification, Simon said.
“Kid’s lucky to be alive,” Simon said. He said security footage from the San Jose airport verified that the boy from Santa Clara, Calif., hopped a fence to get to Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45 on Sunday morning.
The boy scaled the fence under the cover of darkness and remained undetected as he crossed the airport ramp, San Jose airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said. San Jose police say they will be reviewing whether charges are warranted against the boy.
The child had run away from his family after an argument, he said.
