How in the world did a 15 year old boy manage to still be alive after a 5 hour flight in freezing cold weather and oxygen-depleted heights, hiding in the wheel well of an airplane?

Law enforcement itself was puzzled when asking these same questions. What’s more, how did he sneak into the airport without being seen by anyone or anything?

This 15 year old’s name will not be released to the public at this time. The young boy had run away from home after an argument with his parents, hopped a fence at the Mineta San Jose International Airport, and caught a ride hidden in the wheel well of a Hawaii-bound flight. He likely fell unconscious soon after takeoff.

Since 1947, 105 people have since been known to have attempted to survive a flight in a wheel compartment. 25 people have survived, including a 9 year old child. The survival rate is 24%. One flight out of the 94 with wheel well stowaways had flown at heights up to 39,000 feet, and two others had gone to 38,000 feet.

About previous cases, the Federal Aviation Administration said, “The conditions of the altitude can sometimes put the stowaways in a ‘hibernative’ state.”

“Someone can go unconscious, so the body cools down and the central nervous system is preserved,” said CNN aviation expert Michael Kay. In a situation like this where the bay of the airplane is warmer then the external temperature in the plane, you would not go into the state of having your skin instantaneously frozen.

During Lion Tales‘ investigation of the subject, it was revealed that the boy was so cold that he was essentially in a state of “suspended animation.” However, being so young likely worked in his favor. Many older people could not have survived in the conditions he faced.