What happened to Keith Sapsford?

What happened to Keith Sapsford?

John GilpinIn 1970, a teenage stowaway named Keith Sapsford fell to his death from an airplane. But he was tragically unaware that the compartment would reopen when the plane’s wheels retracted. Shortly after liftoff, he fell 200 feet to his death.

Is Keith Sapsford alive?

Mr Sapsford passed away on October 21, 2015, aged 93.

Do stowaways ever survive?

A teenage Kenyan stowaway has survived a flight from London to Maastricht after climbing into the landing-gear bay area of the fuselage. The 16-year-old boy was found after the cargo jet landed in the Netherlands city on Thursday.

Who is Pardeep Saini?

One of them who survived the ordeal and was one of the first such cases to be reported globally was an Indian man by the name of Pardeep Saini. In October 1996, Pardeep and his younger brother Vijay Saini hid the wheel bay of a British Airways Boeing 747 at New Delhi that was headed to London Heathrow.

How far did Keith Sapsford fall?

One of the most notable incidents involved Keith Sapsford (14) from Sydney, Australia who fell 200 feet (60 m) to his death from the wheel-well of a Tokyo bound Japan Air Lines Douglas DC-8 on February 24, 1970, shortly after takeoff from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.

Has anyone survived in the wheel well of a plane?

In June 2010, a 20-year-old Romanian who survived was found inside a wheel bay after a flight from Vienna landed at Heathrow Airport. In that case, the jet had kept below 25,000ft because of bad weather.

Where is Pardeep Saini now?

Now aged 44, Pardeep managed to eventually build a life for himself when he reached London. Working at Heathrow Airport, he now lives in Wembley , with his partner and two sons, aged four and one.

What is wheel well in aircraft?

: a recessed compartment on the underside of an airplane for the reception of a wheel of a retractable landing gear.

Can you survive outside a plane?

One in four plane stowaways can survive, but London case is astonishing. But normally the combination of cold, lack of oxygen and air pressure experienced at a plane’s cruising height, outside the artificially maintained conditions of the cabin, would prove fatal.

Where do stowaways hide on a ship?

Once on board the ship stowaways hide in empty containers, cargo holds, tanks, tunnels, behind false panels, stores, accommodation area, engine rooms, void spaces, cranes, chain lockers.

How old was Keith Sapsford when he fell from the plane?

The Tragic Story Of Keith Sapsford, The 14-Year-Old Stowaway Who Fell From A Plane On February 22, 1970, an Australian teen named Keith Sapsford snuck onto the tarmac at Sydney Airport and hid inside a Tokyo-bound plane. It was the last decision he ever made.

Where was Keith Sapsford born and raised in Australia?

This is his story — from teenage runaway to stowaway — and how his fate was immortalized in an infamous photo. Born in 1956, Keith Sapsford was raised in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales. His father, Charles Sapsford, was a university lecturer of mechanical and industrial engineering.

How did Keith Sapsford become a stowaway?

Young Keith Sapsford, from Randwick in Sydney’s east, was “a wanderer”. Restless. Always on the move. His parents had taken him on an overseas holiday to satisfy his lust for adventure, but it only made his travel bug worse, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 1970.

Why was Dunlea Centre named after Keith Sapsford?

Instagram Boys’ Town, now known as the Dunlea Centre since 2010, aims to engage adolescents through therapy, academic education, and residential care. The boy’s family was at a loss. Ultimately, it was decided that some semblance of discipline and formalized structure could whip the teenager into shape.