Stowaway

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A stowaway on a tram in Astrakhan, Russia Astrakhan trams, 1041 stowaway.jpg
A stowaway on a tram in Astrakhan, Russia
A shipping container in which 22 stowaways were found in the Port of Seattle Chinasmuggle lg.jpg
A shipping container in which 22 stowaways were found in the Port of Seattle

A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus. [1]

Contents

Sometimes, the purpose is to get from one place to another without paying for transportation. In other cases, the goal is to enter another country without first obtaining a travel visa or other permission. Stowaways differ from people smuggling in that the stowaway needs to avoid detection by the truck driver, ship crew, and others responsible for the safe and secure operation of the transportation service.

Thousands of stowaways have travelled by sea or land over the last several centuries. A much smaller number of people have attempted to stowaway on aircraft. Many stowaways have died during the attempt, especially in cases of train surfing and wheel-well stowaway flights.

Origin

The word takes its origin with the expression stow away. This stow away expression is old and was used for things (such as food), such usage is seen for instance in the 1689 book A New Voyage Round the World, Volume 1 or 1637 Journals of the House of Lords, Volume 11.

The word was also used (later) for people. This gave names such as stow-aways, when the correct current name in modern English language is stowaway. Depending on the circumstances, people were stowed away in order to hide themselves, or to be transported as slaves. The concept of people hiding is not so recent; it was yet forbidden (and so known) in 1748 by king of Spain, under the polizón denomination.

In the United States

The US legislation set up a stowaway concept in 1850. Previously, entry into the territory was free [2] and the stowaway word might be older.

In 1891, the new US legislation required the boat to pay the return travel for people not admitted in US, even if stowaways were still admitted. [2]

474 stowaways arrived in US in fiscal year 1910, [2] and 528 next year.

In 1917, a new legislation defined a list of excludable aliens, including stowaways. [2]

Several stowaways arrived in United States by boat during the first half of twentieth century; they were paying for 25 to 30 dollars to travel. [3]

From 1843

The Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, 1965, as amended, (The FAL Convention), define stowaway as

"A person who is secreted on a ship, or in cargo which is subsequently loaded on the ship, without the consent of the shipowner or the master or any other responsible person and who is detected on board the ship after it has departed from a port, or in the cargo while unloading it in the port of arrival, and is reported as a stowaway by the master to the appropriate authorities".

Unnoticed by the captain, crew, port officials and customs authorities, stowaways may gain access to a ship with or without the assistance of port personnel. Once on board the ship, stowaways hide in empty containers, cargo holds, tanks, tunnels, behind false panels, stores, accommodation areas, engine rooms, void spaces, cranes and chain lockers.

The presence of stowaways on board ships may bring serious consequences for ships and, by extension, to the shipping industry as a whole; the ship could be delayed in port; the repatriation of stowaways can be a very complex and costly procedure involving masters, shipowners, port authorities and agents, and the life of stowaways could be endangered as they may spend several days hidden, with the risk of suffocation and without any food or water. [4]

By transport mode

Rail transportation

Some undocumented migrants travel around Europe in trucks and trains without being detected. A number of them try to get to other European countries, such as France and the United Kingdom. [5]

Land travel

Stowaways sometimes hide themselves in vehicles such as cargo trucks to get between cities. Although this is also done by migrants who have paid the driver, it is also done by individuals hiding from the driver. In some places, drivers are legally responsible for making sure that stowaways do not board their vehicles, and can be fined or jailed if they do not detect and remove a stowaway when crossing national borders. [6]

A Finnish stowaway caught illegally entering the United States, photographed on Ellis Island, 1926. Original caption: The desire to come to America must have been very strong for this young man to face all sorts of uncertainties. Hine Finnish Stowaway Ellis Island 1926.jpg
A Finnish stowaway caught illegally entering the United States, photographed on Ellis Island, 1926.
Original caption: The desire to come to America must have been very strong for this young man to face all sorts of uncertainties.

Ship travel

Stowaways on sailing ships and on steamships made this way of illicit travel known throughout the world. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries poor, would-be emigrants and travelers seeking adventure for no cost helped to make it seem romantic. Noted stowaways to America by steamship have included Henry Armetta, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, Willem de Kooning, Jan Valtin, and Florentino Das.

Stowaways typically board the ship while it is in port. [8] This can be by the gangway or by climbing the ships side when the crew are not maintaining an adequate security watch of the vessel. [8] To prevent stowaways on ships, the International Chamber of Shipping and Witherbys provide guidance to ships on managing the risks associated with stowaways and with rescue of displaced persons at sea. [9] [10] [11] The International Maritime Organization have also issued revised guidelines for the prevention of access by stowaways. [12]

Air travel

Poor perimeter security at a number of airports around the world can make it easier for people to stow away on planes. [13]

Stowaways in aircraft wheel wells face numerous health risks, many of which are fatal: being mangled when the undercarriage retracts, tinnitus, deafness, hypothermia, hypoxia, frostbite, acidosis and finally falling when the doors of the compartment reopen. [14] The landing gear compartment is not equipped with heating, pressure or oxygen, which are vital for survival at a high altitude. [14] According to experts, at 18,000 feet (5,500 m), hypoxia causes lightheadedness, weakness, vision impairment and tremors. By 22,000 feet (6,700 m) the oxygen level of the blood drops and the person will struggle to stay conscious. [14] Above 33,000 feet (10,000 m) their lungs would need artificial pressure to operate normally. [14] The temperature could drop as low as −63 °C (−81 °F) which causes severe hypothermia. [14] Those stowaways who managed to not be crushed by the retracting undercarriage or killed by the deadly conditions would most likely be unconscious when the compartment door re-opens during the approach and fall several thousand feet to their deaths. [14]

David Learmount, an aviation expert of Flight International, told BBC about a lot of ignorance in this area. He suggested that no one would be willing to risk such a journey having full understanding of this kind of ordeal. [14] Stowaways who survived usually travelled relatively short distances or at a low altitude. [14] Two cases are known of people who survived at an altitude of about 38,000 feet (12,000 m) – a man on an 8-hour flight, whose body core temperature fell to 79 °F (26 °C), [15] and a 16-year-old boy who was unharmed by a 5.5 hour flight, despite losing consciousness. [16] Almost all aircraft stowaways are male. [14]

Aside from risk to themselves, aircraft stowaways can also cause significant risk and stress to others when impacted equipment compromises safety, as well as significant cost of equipment repair, damage to aircraft on landing, and runway closures. In 1994, Flight PH844 discovered the body of a deceased male stowaway was jamming the starboard carriageway. After 3.5 hours of maneuvers attempting to dislodge the body, the flight made an emergency landing using only the nosewheel and port undercarriage. [17] The air force of another country was required to assist move the damaged plane from the runway. [18]

In 1965, Brian Robson attempted to mail himself in a crate on a flight from Melbourne, Australia to London. The flight was diverted to Los Angeles, where he was discovered after four days in the crate. [19] In one reported case, in 2003, a young man mailed himself in a large box and had it shipped on UPS planes from New York City to Texas. He survived because the box travelled in a pressurized hold of an aircraft. [20]

From 1947 until September 2012, there were 96 known stowaway attempts worldwide in wheel wells of 85 separate flights, which resulted in 73 deaths with only 23 survivors. [14]

On November 26, 2024, a passenger without a boarding pass bypassed all security protocols and managed to stow aboard a flight from New York JFK airport to Paris. She hid in the airplane lavatory aboard the plane to avoid getting caught. [21]

Stowaways may risk being fined or imprisoned, since it is illegal in most jurisdictions to embark on aircraft, boats or trains as stowaways. Airports, sea ports and train stations are typically marked as "no trespassing" or "private property" zones to anyone but customers and employees. Seaports, train stations, and airports often attempt further security by designating restricted areas with signs saying "Authorized Personnel Only".

Since the September 11 attacks, it has become more difficult to be a stowaway on board transportation arriving to or departing from the United States. Airport security has dramatically increased, and among the new security measures is trained professionals watching over the fences from which stowaways usually gain entrance to an airport's runway.

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish Airlines Flight 981</span> 1974 passenger plane crash in France

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (TK981/THY981) was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed into the Ermenonville Forest, 37.76 kilometres (23.46 mi) outside Paris, killing all 335 passengers and 11 crew on board, it was the first aviation accident to exceed 200 and 300 fatalities. The crash was also known as the Ermenonville air disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landing gear</span> Undercarriage of aircraft or spacecraft

Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called alighting gear by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cargo</span> Goods or produce transported

In transportation, freight refers to goods conveyed by land, water or air, while cargo refers specifically to freight when conveyed via water or air. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in case of goods in the cold-chain, because the perishable inventory is always in transit towards a final end-use, even when it is held in cold storage or other similar climate-controlled facilities, including warehouses.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1966.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1974. 1974 had been deemed as "the single worst year in airline history" although this has since been surpassed.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1975.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1996:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 2000.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Amanat International Airport</span> Airport in Bangladesh

Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram is an international airport serving Bangladesh's southeastern port city of Chattogram. Operated and maintained by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, it is the second-largest international airport in Bangladesh after Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is used by the Bangladesh Air Force as a part of 'BAF Zahurul Haq Base'. It was formerly known as MA Hannan International Airport, named after Awami League politician M. A. Hannan, but was renamed on 2 April 2005 by the Government of Bangladesh, after an 18th-century Islamic saint, Shah Amanat. It is capable of annually handling 1.5 million passengers and 6,000 tonnes of cargo. It also serves as a base for the Arirang Flying School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident</span> Missile attack on a Belgian cargo plane

On 22 November 2003, shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq, an Airbus A300B2-200F cargo plane, registered OO-DLL and owned by the Belgian division of European Air Transport, was struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile while on a scheduled flight to Muharraq, Bahrain. Severe wing damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems. Because outboard left wing fuel tank 1A was full at takeoff, no fuel-air vapour explosion occurred. Liquid jet fuel dropped away as 1A disintegrated. Inboard fuel tank 1 was pierced and leaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faleolo International Airport</span> Airport near Apia, Samoa

Faleolo International Airport is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa. Since the airport's expansion, most international traffic now uses Faleolo.

Air ACT, legally ACT Airlines and formerly branded as myCargo Airlines, is a Turkish cargo and passenger charter airline based in Kurtköy, Istanbul. It operates international scheduled and charter air cargo services, as well as wet and dry lease services. Its main base is Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Istanbul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Airlines Flight 334</span> 1986 aircraft hijacking

China Airlines Flight 334 was a Boeing 747-2R7F/SCD freighter aircraft that was hijacked by pilot Wang Hsi-chueh, a former military U-2 pilot, on May 3, 1986, while en route to Don Mueang, Thailand. Wang had left family members behind in China when he left for Taiwan in 1949 and had met some of them in Hong Kong in 1984. He decided to defect in order to reunite with his family in China. Wang managed to subdue the two other crew members and changed course to land the 747 in Guangzhou, where he defected to the People's Republic of China. The incident forced the Chiang Ching-kuo government in Taiwan to reverse its Three Noes policy in regard to contacting the communist government in mainland China, and Chiang dispatched several delegates to Hong Kong to negotiate with mainland officials for the return of the aircraft and crew. The incident was credited as a catalyst in renewing cross-strait relations between mainland China and Taiwan.

In aeronautics, loss of control (LOC) is the unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight and is a significant factor in several aviation accidents worldwide. In 2015 it was the leading cause of general aviation accidents. Loss of control may be the result of mechanical failure, external disturbances, aircraft upset conditions, or inappropriate crew actions or responses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheel-well stowaway</span> People who attempt travel in the wheel wells of commercial passenger planes

Wheel-well stowaways are individuals who attempt to travel in the landing gear compartment, also known as the wheel bay or undercarriage of an aircraft. Between 1947 and June 2015, a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) researcher had documented 113 such attempts on 101 flights. These 113 people were all male and predominantly under age 30. There were 86 deaths, a 76 percent fatality rate, with many unidentified decedents. There may be additional undocumented cases of wheel-well stowaways. A further 19 incidents, identified since 2015, are listed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">True Aviation Flight 21</span> 2016 aviation accident

True Aviation Flight 21 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight in Bangladesh, flying from Cox's Bazar to Jashore. On 9 March 2016, the Antonov An-26 crashed into the Bay of Bengal shortly after take-off from Cox's Bazar Airport. The aircraft was attempting to return to the airport after experiencing an engine failure. Three of the four crew members on board were killed in the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 663</span> Aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 663 was a Soviet passenger flight from Tbilisi International Airport to Krasnodar International Airport that crashed on 24 August 1963, in the Kutaisi region. The crash involved an Aeroflot Avia 14. All 27 passengers and 5 crew on board were killed.

In aviation safety, parts departing aircraft or parts detached from aeroplanes (PDA), also known as objects falling off airplanes (OFA), things falling off aircraft (TFOA), and other analogous variations, can range from small fasteners like screws and rivets up to major sub-assemblies like hatch covers and doors. PDA are a safety concern because they may be critical parts needed to continue safe flight, may damage other critical parts of the aircraft as they depart, may cause foreign object damage to other aircraft, or may cause serious injuries or damage to people and property on the ground. These occurrences are a longstanding worldwide problem in aviation.

References

  1. ↑ "What is a stowaway? | Sealand Support". PR Fire. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ancestry magazine". Ancestry Inc – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ International, Rotary (1 October 1921). "The Rotarian". Rotary International – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Stowaways". imo.org. International Maritime Organization . Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  5. ↑ Halliday, Josh (31 July 2015). "Cameron chairs Cobra meeting after overnight standoff in Calais". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "How are lorries checked for concealed migrants?". BBC News. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  7. ↑ "Legend from Hine's study". 18 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  8. 1 2 Shipboard Response to Stowaways and Distressed People in Small Boats - 2025-26 Edition. Livingston: Witherby Publishing Group. 2024.
  9. ↑ Zenic, Eda (2024-12-18). "Maritime Security: Managing Risks of Stowaways and Rescues". Marine Regulations News. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  10. ↑ "Maritime Security: Managing Risks Associated with Stowaways and Rescued People at Sea". Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. 2024-09-20. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  11. ↑ "On the Bookshelf: Managing Risks of Stowaways on Vessels". MarineLink. 2024-12-17. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  12. ↑ "IMO guidelines for the unwanted person onboard-Stowaway". Marine Insight. 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  13. ↑ "'He's a lost soul': mystery of man who fell to earth from plane". AP. The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kelly, Jon (September 13, 2012). "How often do plane stowaways fall from the sky?". BBC News . Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  15. ↑ Stowaway Found Alive in Jet's Wheel Well
  16. ↑ 16-year-old Survives in Wheel Well of Maui Flight
  17. ↑ "Dead Stowaway Found After Emergency Landing". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1994. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Samoa Plane". digitalpasifik.org. September 13, 2024.
  19. ↑ Murphy, Heather (2021-04-14). "A Man Who Shipped Himself in a Crate Wants to Find the Men Who Helped". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  20. ↑ Hannaford, Alex (29 August 2004), "The crate escape", The Guardian
  21. ↑ Shafiq, Saman (November 28, 2024). "Stowaway sneaks onto Delta Air Lines flight from NYC to Paris; flies without boarding pass". USA Today.
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