Stowaway

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.

[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.

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.

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.

[13] Aviation authorities worry about stowaways because poor security also makes them vulnerable to terrorists and other malicious actors.

[14] 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.

[15] 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.

After 3.5 hours of maneuvers attempting to dislodge the body, the flight made an emergency landing using only the nosewheel and port undercarriage.

[20] 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.

[15] 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.

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".