Stowaway body found at LHR

[blue_side_up]

I don't fly jets, but I wonder about a comment from the report on the AF Tahitian stowaway. Wind chill was mentioned as a factor, but could this be valid? The gear is up within 30 seconds or so at take-off, and presuming it is lowered approx. 10-15 NM before landing, that equals about 5 mins at the end of the flight. I would have thought that wind chill could not be a factor in flight, as I would expect the wheel wells to be well sealed. After all, anything less would = extra drag which = extra fuel. And using extra fuel always gets the airlines attention.
The second comment is more a question. Regarding temps in the wheel bays, if a take-off were made from a very wet runway, would not the ice that forms around the brakes, etc, present a hazzard upon landing? I know the gear is lowered several minutes before touchdown, but with the wind chill, would that be enough to sufficiently melt it?
Anyone know the answers to this?

[Capt. Crosswind]

Stowaway Cause of death

Hypoxia will set in after the acft climbs through 20,000 ft.
I was taking over an acft at Haneda circa 1971 when a stowaway from Taiwan fell from the port wheel well. The poor chap was frozen stiff ,but would have been dead from hypoxia before he froze to death.

[GlueBall]

Dead stowaways found in South America hardly make national news. April 5th of last year, a Cali (Colombia) newspaper had reported the death of two males who had climbed into the tiny wheelwell of a DC-8. One had received fatal injuries during gear retraction, the other had died from asphyxiation after landing. The gear wouldn't fully retract and the crew had returned for landing, only to find that the gear wouldn't lock down either. The runway was foamed. The one suviving, trapped stowaway who had survived the collapse of the nose gear, then died from lack of oxygen displaced by the foam.

[t'aint natural]

In the Saini case mentioned earlier, the brothers had been told by the people they'd paid to get them airside at Delhi that there was a passage from the wheelwell to the inside of the aircraft.

[Wino]

MALANDA.

When the aircraft has been sitting on the ground overnight during the winter they will certianly read down around 0.

Cheers
Wino

[overstress]

just to add my 2p-worth

Having flown mil unpressurized ac to 10,000ft without oxy, 24,000ft with, and then graduated to mil jets flying to 50,000ft with pressure breathing etc and having been rapidly decompressed 25000-45000 in 3 sec in the good old North Luffenham chamber, (and had to attend all the relevant aviation medicine lectures) - a lot of what has been spoken here is relevant.

I'm not so sure about relying on temperatures in wheelbrakes for indications as to heating in unpressurised wheelbays. My current type reaches high wheelbrake temps (300 deg C max for t/o) but I don't assume that the temperature on the ECAM reflects that in the wheelbay as a whole.

Rates of climb could be a red herring as hypoxia is likely above 8-10,000ft in a healthy person; a smoker or those with otherwise impaired lung function could be hypoxic at 2000ft.

The statement 'dead by 10000ft' as so many of us know from experience is plainly incorrect and must be a typing error.

The unfortunate stowaways die of hypoxia. Onset would be usually 8000ft upwards. Time and altitude are the factors - anyone can stay conscious @ 35000ft - for about 7 seconds!

The temperature in the wheelbays is nearer -50degrees than anything else - just outside the skin it is -57degrees and there is no heating to the bays.

The bodies sometimes freeze depending where the unfortunates cram themselves.

Perhaps manufacturers should place disclaimers in the wheelbays. Someone is bound to survive soon as a stowaway then sue the airline for duty of care when their limbs fall off.