CAP Teenager tragic accident

[vento]

Sad news, and although irrelevant, Flying magazine made an effort to link the teen to CAP.
RIP Cadet Tisdale.

North Carolina Teen Drops From Wheel Well
of Airliner
It's not the first time it's happened, but the story is a shocker. Teenager Delvonte Tisdale, a participant in the Civil Air Patrol who probably should have known better, apparently stowed away in the wheel well of a Boeing 737 airliner headed from his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston. His remains were found on a side street in Milton, Massachusetts, at about the location where the 737 would have lowered its gear for landing on Runway 4 at Boston Logan Airport. At first, police believed the 16-year-old had been murdered, but later theorized that he had somehow breached security to climb into the wheel well. Tisdale was last seen Nov. 15 at about 1 a.m. in Charlotte, and his body was discovered in Milton less than 24 hours later at about 7 p.m. on Nov. 16.

link here

[DakRadz]

He was also AFJROTC.

The news said they think he used the uniform to get past certain checkpoints easier, though he was found in regular clothing, I think. This was on TV, so not sure if I can find a source for that.

Conflicting reports on running from family. RIP Cadet.

[spacecommand]

Tragic news I remember hearing about it.  With all the talk about airport security this story doesn't make you feel any more safer.

[NCRblues]

this is horrible to hear about, but i have a question for all you pilots and aircrafts gurus. Would he not have passed out with out a supply of oxygen above 10,000ft?

[SABRE17]

thats what i was thinking until i saw a show called "untold stories of the ER" they brought this guy in from an airport COVERED in dead skin and oil (frostbite and aircraft hydrolic oil) and they were able to keep him alive long enough for him to heal up, he was some kind of stowaway on a trans pacific flight.

its certainly possible to survive, yet i can hear the ORM gods already...

[HGjunkie]

thats what i was thinking until i saw a show called "untold stories of the ER" they brought this guy in from an airport COVERED in dead skin and oil (frostbite and aircraft hydrolic oil) and they were able to keep him alive long enough for him to heal up, he was some kind of stowaway on a trans pacific flight.

its certainly possible to survive, yet i can hear the ORM gods already...

I think I saw that one. Wasn't his temperature in the 70's or something?

[SABRE17]

i think so
either way he was either incredibly stupid or incredibly misinformed/ lucky

[NIN]

You can survive just fine for extended periods of time above 10,000 ft MSL without supplemental oxygen. 

However, most airliners fly considerably higher than that, in the neighborhood of 30,000-35,000 ft (or, sometimes, higher!)  There, an unprotected individual will suffer from hypoxia and other altitude-related factors, such as altitude sickness, or even high-altitude edemas.   Long term exposure to normal airliner altitudes probably won't kill you outright, but it will surely mess you up.

And of course, being that you're jammed into a wheel well, you pass out, now you're not hanging on to anything. Even if you're alive, there's no guarantee you're going to just "wake up" on descent.  When the Captain says "Gear down," you're going for a short trip to a long dirt nap.

Sad, really.

[sardak]

Would he not have passed out with out a supply of oxygen above 10,000ft?
You can survive just fine for extended periods of time above 10,000 ft MSL without supplemental oxygen.

There are a lot of people all over the world who live at altitudes above 10,000 ft. On the other hand, there are a lot of people in the developed mountainous areas below 10,000 ft who carry supplemental oxygen.

Mike

[JeffDG]

this is horrible to hear about, but i have a question for all you pilots and aircrafts gurus. Would he not have passed out with out a supply of oxygen above 10,000ft?

10,000...no.  You aren't even required to have supplemental O2 as the pilot unless you're above 12,500' for more than 30 minutes.

At airliner altitudes, absolutely there would have been loss of consciousness...but there's a difference between LoC and death due to hypoxia...I don't know how long someone can survive in the mid-30s, but your period of useful consciousness at 35,000 is 30-60 seconds (which, BTW, is why the airlines tell you to do your own mask before the child travelling with you...if you lose consciousness, you can't help)

[AirAux]

This should be a reminder that we as leaders of a cadet program need to be aware of youngsters needs outside of CAP.  Sometimes we are the only people they feel they can trust and will turn to.  Always let them know you have an open door policy and will talk to them about anything, anytime.  Yes, you can remind them of the chain of command, BUT, there are times when the chain of command isn't necessary for our purposes and helping cadets through tough times is one of them.  Several years ago, we had a female cadet call us on a Sunday in tears and you could hardly understand her.  She had run away from home and didn't know what to do.  We were very thankful to be there for her.  She is an NCO in the Security Force in the USAF now.     

[AngelWings]

R.I.P Cadet.
Must of had extreme emotional problems. Its a death wish to fly in that area of a airliner. He should have seeked help. Sad story.

[Eclipse]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/16/149055/after-teens-fatal-fall-from-airliner.html

Amazing that there is still no explanation on this...

[lordmonar]

What's to explain.

Airport security is a joke.  Anyone who seriously wanted to gain acess could no problem.

The TSA is an even bigger joke....we are no safer flying today then back when D.B. Cooper's day.

The kid found some quite place to jump the fence....moved in the showdows to the edge of the TARMAC....the walked purposly and confidantly to the airplane...while everyone was working and/or on a break.  Up the whell well and off to Boston he goes.

I used to do the exact same thing on USAF bases.  You would be amazed at how many people will just ignore you if you carry a tool back and a determined face.

[PHall]

The only wheel well on a 737 where he could have fitted in would have been the nose gear.
And the "Co-pilot" is supposed to check that area for leaks, broken stuff and yes, stowaways, during their preflight walkaround.
That area is not heated and not pressurized. So he was exposed to temps of -54F and altitudes of about 35,000 feet without oxygen.
So by the time he got to KBOS he was frozen and hypoxic if not dead already.

[NIN]

I used to do the exact same thing on USAF bases.  You would be amazed at how many people will just ignore you if you carry a tool back and a determined face.

Years ago, I was helping my friend's Security Police unit with some ORI train-up work. We had a team of saboteurs set to infiltrate the flight line and "bomb" the aircraft generation area, while they were simulating being deployed to a foreign base.  Essentially, everything outside of the roped off area was not specifically under their control.  I put on a flightsuit, put on my BDU cap, grabbed two screwdrivers and a small binder that looked like an aircraft logbook and came bip-bopping down the road alongside the flight line past the ECP and over to a UH-1 that was parked next to the secured area.  I did my best to look the part of a guy who was supposed to be there.  Walk like you're supposed to be there, act like nothing is amiss, and carry things that make you look like a part of the activities.

Unfortunately, a good CAP friend of mine was the entry controller at the ECP and she totally recognized me as I walked by (poor planning on my part, I didn't realize she had ECP duty) and called the SP roving patrol over.  I've got the engine cowlings open on this Huey (LOL, I had *no* idea how to open the engine covers on a Huey before then), and I'm reading over the checklist as the pickup pulls up.  They never got out of the vehicle.  "Hey, man, whats going on?" "Oh, just doing the preflight before the pilots get out here.." "This your aircraft?" "Oh, yeah, 661. She's a beaut." "Oh, yeah, well, sorry.. have a good day."  and they drive off. 

Couple minutes later, I walk over to the red roped off border of the aircraft area, and I'm hollering at the bus where the crew chiefs are getting warm "Hey, anybody there a hydraulics guy?" One guy goes "Hey, buddy, don't cross the rope!" I hold my hand to my ear "What? Cross the rope? Huh?" All of the sentries in the alert area are now looking at the commotion on one side of the area, and one of the cops from the nearby corner starts walking over, rifle still slung.  Just then one of the exercise controllers appears next to me and says "Hey, buddy, they're in the middle of an exercise.."  In a low voice, I said "I know. I'm part of it."  He goes "Oh!"

Before you know it, while all the cops in the alert area are paying attention to me, 4 guys with "bombs" run out from behind buildings on the opposite side of the alert area and manage to "bomb" 5 F-4 Phantoms.  Oops.

But it was an important lesson for the cops: 1) Just cuz I looked like I was supposed to be there, was I *really* supposed to be there; 2) When one of your controllers tells you to check something out, really check it out.  The problem they had was they were not 100% clear on their level of authority outside of their force generation area, so me being a "foreign national" for the scenario, they didn't know how to handle me, so they didn't even bother to get out of the vehicle, even when the controller *knew* I was not supposed to be there; 3) don't get distracted from your duties and your responsibilities.  Just cuz there is a commotion on the other side of the two rows of parked aircraft doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to maintain your sector. 

It all started with "a guy who looked like he was supposed to be there."