Stowaway survives four-hour flight on Cubana aircraft

Airline Industry Information, Dec 10, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A Cuban man has survived a four-hour flight concealed inside the wheel well of a Cubana flight.

The stowaway, in his early 20s, reportedly gained access to the DC-10 aircraft at Havana, and survived low oxygen levels and temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius after wedging himself beside the aircraft's landing gear. When the flight landed at Montreal's Dorval Airport, police arrested the man and handed him over to immigration authorities.

The man is seeking refugee status in Canada. According to a Canadian immigration official, the man will remain in detention at least until next week as his motives are "not very credible".

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