Afghan Teen Found in Aircraft’s Landing Gear at Delhi Airport Fled Home After Losing Father In Bomb Blast, Facing Neglect

New Delhi: As more details emerged about the shocking incident at Delhi Airport on September 21, when a 13-year-old Afghan boy was discovered after secretly travelling from Kabul inside the landing gear compartment of a Kam Air flight, Republic has exclusively accessed the first pictures of the Afghan boy.

Sources said the boy, a native of Kunduz in northeast Afghanistan, lost his father in a bomb blast and had since been living with a stepfather and brothers who failed to take care of him. In search of safety and livelihood, he had travelled to Iran but was among those deported back to Afghanistan during Tehran’s recent repatriation drive.

Desperate to return to Iran, the boy sneaked into Kabul Airport late at night. Taking advantage of prayer and lunch breaks among airport staff, he managed to slip past checks and conceal himself in the landing gear bay of Kam Air flight RQ-4401 bound for Delhi.

ALSO READ: SHOCKING: 13-Year-Old Afghan Boy Survives 2-Hour Flight From Kabul To Delhi In Plane's Landing Gear

The aircraft landed at IGI Airport on the morning of September 21. Around 11:10 am, airline security spotted the boy wandering near the plane. During questioning, he disclosed how he boarded undetected. Initially, officials were baffled because CCTV footage showed no trace of him entering. But after his confession, investigators reviewed the recordings again and located the moments when he maneuvered his way onto the aircraft.

A subsequent inspection of the aircraft also led to the recovery of a small red audio speaker from the landing gear compartment.

The boy was interrogated by central agencies in Delhi and sent back to Kabul the same day on Kam Air’s return flight RQ-4402. Sources said he remains under investigation in Afghanistan, as authorities attempt to piece together the circumstances of his risky journey.