Indian officials said that a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan was found hidden in the airplane's take-off cabin on the 21st, after flying to New Delhi airport, and was then sent back home.
The report quoted Indian government sources as saying that the boy was from Kunduz, northern Afghanistan. In the early morning of September 21st, local time, he managed to enter the restricted area of Kabul Airport and hid in the central landing gear compartment at the rear of Kam Airlines Flight RQ-4401. The passenger plane took off from Kabul, and after about two hours of flight in the oxygen-deficient and cold environment at high altitude, the boy arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at about 11 am.
After the aircraft landed, the airline staff found the teenager wandering near the aircraft and immediately notified the security personnel. He was handed over by the airport security department to the Central Industrial Security Force of India and brought to Terminal 3 for questioning.
According to PTI, in the preliminary investigation, the boy said he entered the aircraft's landing cabin out of "curiosity" and did not realize the danger. The Indian Express cited sources as saying that the boy had intended to go to Iran but had mistakenly boarded a flight to India.
The Indian Times that security and engineers at Cam Airways inspected the landing cabin and found a small red speaker believed to have been brought in by the boy. After several inspections, the plane was declared safe. Indian officials said the boy had returned to Kabul on the same day on a return flight RQ-4402 of the same passenger plane.