Boomhauer

16 year old kid in San Jose climbs into the wheel well of a flight to Hawaii.
Remarkably the kid survives the 5.5 hour flight unharmed . Upon arrival in Hawaii, he hops out of wheel well. Said to have been passed out for most of the flight.

So would such a flight have been cruising at 38,000 feet?

I found this below info on temps and altitude, is it accurate?

" The temperature gradually drops until you get to about 38,000 feet, where it's about 75 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. At that point, you reach the stratosphere, where the temperature goes up again until you're about 30 miles up, peaking up around 20-25 degrees above zero".

http://www.komonews.com/weather/faq/4347501.html


Older story about a stowaway in the wheel well , this one survived a 7.5 hour trip from French Polynesia to Los Angeles.

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/aug/05/local/me-65084

scrubbedexpat141

Just read the same thing, apparently only 25% or so have survived out of 80+ known wheel-stowaways...mental.

scot47

I saw a documentary about a stowaway from Angola who tried this. Fell to his death on approach to Heathrow. I suspect t this happens more frequently than we hear about.

mikewot

Yeah it's pretty chilly the higher you get and oxygen content above 12,000 feet is not great which is why if a plane depressurises they'll get down below that as soon as possible i.e. start immediate sharp descent.
I think this kid being unconscious may have helped survival, here's hoping he doesn't breed because Darwin failed this time.

Boomhauer

Lots of kids do dangerous stuff, not on this level, but still dangerous and many make it through ok and do fine as adults.

I would think that he is a body that can tolerate extremes, which would be a plus would it not , from a Darwinian POV.

mikewot

For an animal yes, for a human brains outperform adaptation.

Boomhauer

Physical adaptation helps humans too. Natural selection favoured stocky bodies for the Innuit and Sami because they have been living in extreme cold climate for many millenia. Tibetans and some South American Natives can live normally in high altitudes which is not so for the vast majority of people, who would find it difficult.

Then there's the case of some people who can train themselves to hold their breath for several minutes. I doubt training is the only reason as we would have far more people able to hold their breath for 7-9 minutes if this was the case.

So even in humans ,a mutation that allows one to tolerate extremes is beneficial. Well it can't hurt , unless said mutation had some major side effect.

mikewot

Helped but now we really don't need to worry who is fastest, strongest, tallest etc. (IMHO) because our brains invent things to overcome limitations. To use your breath holding example we invented aqualungs so now anyone can stay underwater for an hour or two if they want.

scrubbedexpat141

A bit like the Wherethe****arwe Tribe who live in 4ft tall grass and are only 3ft tall.

Bahtatboy

Aren't they the keepers of the winkywanky bird?

Boomhauer

Humans who can run faster, are stronger, have better endurance and stamina etc... still do have an advantage in sports and the military.

mikewot

We getting into a hamster wheel but sport doesn't count for anything other than as a pastime. Military does not need those qualities nowadays as there is almost no hand to hand fighting amongst 1st world nations, they generally use stand off weapons. Transporting equipment is by mechanical means.
If you've ever met any UK special forces people they do not stand out by being big, lean, fighting machines but normal sized average looking guys.

shiva

Whilst not bulky like a body builder uk sf are to a man fit as **** and have a mental strength and endurance above and beyond most, often and in fact well beyond the bounds of sense and logic. When they don't kill themselves through over exertion (admittedly rare ) they pull off some shit that is at the very edge of maximum human performance.
I disagree re hand to hand. Te military will always needs boots on the ground. You can't hold ground from the air, plain and simple.

mikewot

Yea olde days of using bayonets in trenches are long gone. Watch any Afghanistan videos and both British and Americans generally call in air, artillery, rockets or overwhelming firepower from cover. But yes you need boots on the ground, just not supermen only grunts.

scot47

Is that why the West lost in Afghanistan ?