Body of young stowaway found in US cargo plane

[herding cats]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The body of a young stowaway was found inside a compartment near the wheel well of an Air Force cargo jet that had landed in Germany, U.S. military officials said Tuesday, triggering questions about the security of an aircraft that had made several stops in Africa.

Air Force personnel found the boy's body Sunday night after spotting an orange cloth in a small opening by the landing gear while airmen during a detailed inspection of the C-130J aircraft when it landed at Ramstein Air Base. When they tugged on the wet cloth, they discovered it was attached to a boy in the compartment, officials said.

The Pentagon's press secretary, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said the stowaway was a black male who may have been of African origin. The plane was on a routine mission in Africa and had made stops in Senegal, Mali, Chad, Tunisia and Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily before arriving at Ramstein.

A stowaway aboard a military plane is a significant security breach. No Africa Command senior leaders were on the flight.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/body-child-stowaway-found-us-cargo-plane

[lululu]

1. They should figure out some way

to remove the extra room in those areas. It's clearly impossible to keep people away from them or to expect everyone who's desperate enough to try that to know they're basically death traps. Or they could have cameras in them and make that part of the pilots' checklist.

[oldandhappy]

2. I have thot along the same lines

while reading similar stories previously. I wonder what makes the easy answer not possible. And my heart goes out to those so desperate that they will try anything to get out of where they are.

[happyslug]

4. Th problem is such tight fits makes the plane bad for its mission.

The C-130 was designed to operate not only on concrete runways, but any open field. Its mission is to provide a large cargo to troops close to the front lines by landing on "Rough Runways" which can includes open fields. To do this you need a good set of landing gear that includes space for it to "Adjust" to the field (i.e. spring up and down to smooth out the landing).

Furthermore the C-130 is a Cargo Plane, any landing gear has to on the sides of the plane, to provide the most support for the cargo area AND not interfere with the use of the Cargo Area. Thus the Landing gear (Except for the front wheel which is under where the pilots sits) are on the side of the plane.

Here is a photo showing the landing gear, look at how massive they are, and the massive space to store them in and the hydralic fluid to operate the brakes:





http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/News/Special%20Features/C130%20&%20F16%20upgrades/C130%20&%20f16%20upgrades.htm

Thus you have large areas of "Empty Space" to permit so much "bouncing" of the landing gear. Into one of these gap this young boy managed to enter, probably by climbing the landing gear. For more on the C-130 see:

http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-130.htm

[Sherman A1]

5. Perhaps

some type of inflatable air bag could do the trick. Inflating before take off and then deflating prior to lowering the gear. The method does not have to be a rigid type of structure that would interfere with operations but just enough to remove areas for stow aways or perhaps cargo that might not be on the manifest.

[MADem]

6. They are so LARGE, too--without the scale of people standing nearby

it's easy to forget how doggone enormous they actually are.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Massive flightline security lapse.

Very troubling.

[Earth_First]

7. Given the Ebola epidemic ravaging Africa currently...

This is much much more than a flight line security breach.

Very troubling indeed...

[YOHABLO]

8. I think it is very sad. It takes extraordinary desperation to do something like this. As for Ebola..

I believe the Ebola virus is in Liberia and perhaps into some of the surrounding area .. but not the entire continent of Africa.