The father of a teenager who miraculously survived a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii tucked in a jet's wheel well has said his son missed Africa, where he used to live, and was struggling at school.
Abdilahi Yusuf Abdi, of Santa Clara, California, said his son, 15, was always talking about going back to Africa, where his grandparents live. He came to the US four years ago. The boy climbed into the wheel well before the Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767 took off from San Jose for Maui on Sunday morning. Security video shows the boy jumping out of the plane after landing.
Mr Abdi said Honolulu police notified him of his son's journey.
The teenager remains in hospital in Honolulu. Airport chiefs said the boy was disoriented, thirsty and could barely walk after the freezing, low-pressure ordeal. Security video of his arrival shows him dangling his feet for about 15 seconds from the wheel well before jumping about 10ft to the ground, landing on his feet and immediately collapsing, Maui district airport manager Marvin Moniz said.
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