( CNN ) -- News that a 16-year-old boy from California survived a five-hour flight in the wheel well of a Hawaii-bound Boeing 767 has shocked and impressed the world . Forgetting , for the moment , his ability to slip through numerous security checks , he had to avoid getting crushed by the wheel apparatus as it folded up and down , as well as survive oxygen deprivation and temperatures of below -45 degrees Celsius ( -49 degrees Fahrenheit ) at altitudes up to 38,000 feet . Little surprise then that survival rates for this kind of stowaway are pegged at around 24 % , according to the Federal Aviation Administration 's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute . Stowing away is also an illegal act , and of course should never be attempted by anyone . For those that do survive , there 's a risk of brain damage and other health complications as a result of the extreme conditions endured . But survival has happened -- here are some of the more notable examples of the last century . Note : While the term `` stowaway '' is defined by Merriam-Webster as `` someone who hides on a ship , airplane , etc. , in order to travel without paying or being seen , '' a couple of our inclusions did not directly hide , but surreptitiously boarded planes . 1 . Hate shopping , prefer Rome . In 2012 , 11-year-old Liam Corcoran , from Manchester , UK , went to extreme measures to escape a shopping trip with his mother . Having given her the slip in a shopping center , Corcoran headed for Manchester Airport where , without a passport , ticket or boarding pass , he evaded security checks , metal detectors and gate control to board a Jet2 flight bound for Rome . He was only noticed halfway through the flight and was returned home when the plane flew back to the UK . 2 . Dublin to New York , courtesy the gab . In 1985 , two young boys from Dublin nearly pulled off the runaway of the century . Keith Byrne ( 10 ) and Noel Murray ( 13 ) ran away from their homes in north Dublin and stowed away or hitchhiked on a boat , a bus , a train and a car to get to Heathrow Airport , nearly 600 kilometers ( 372 miles ) away in London . And that was just the start . In Heathrow they evaded security and passport checks to board an Air India flight bound for New York . They were only caught when a wily police officer in JFK International Airport spotted them looking lost and disheveled on a sidewalk . They eventually confessed and were put on a return flight to Dublin , having spent a free night in a hotel , again courtesy Air India . 3 . World 's first aerial stowaway . In 1928 , 19-year-old Clarence Terhune became a sensation in Germany , after stowing away on the return leg of the maiden flight of the Graf Zeppelin , flying from Lakehurst , New Jersey to Friedrichshafen , Germany . Terhune , a golf caddy from St. Louis , Missouri , who had already established a habit of stowing away on trains and ships and of crashing major sports events , made a bet with his brother-in-law that he could trump all previous stowaways with the Zeppelin . And he did . He snuck aboard while the dirigible was in its hangar and made his big reveal once over the Atlantic Ocean . Though made to work in the kitchen for the remainder of the journey and arrested on landing , he was hailed as a hero by the German people , sent telegrams , invited to dinners and was even offered a job , it was reported . 4 . Miracle survivor . In 1996 , 23-year-old Pardeep Saini survived a ten-hour-flight from New Delhi to London Heathrow in the wheel well of a British Airways Boeing 747 . Saini 's 19-year-old brother Vijay died on the same attempt , exposed to temperatures of -60 degrees Celsius ( -76 degrees Fahrenheit ) . Saini 's survival was likely the result of hypoxia combined with hypothermia , essentially putting him into a state of suspended animation , doctors said . Found wandering the tarmac at Heathrow , Saini said he and his brother had fled India after being accused of having links to Sikh militants . He described how they 'd paid a man for information about how to escape the country by getting into the baggage hold of a plane through the wheel bay . But there is no access to the baggage hold from the wheel bay , and moments after entering the wheel well the plane took off and he passed out . His application for asylum was refused . 5 . Cuba to Paris , via nosebleed . In 2000 , 24-year-old Roberto Viza EgÃ¼es survived 14 hours as a stowaway inside a cargo container on an Air France flight from Havana , Cuba to Paris . He was exposed to freezing temperatures and low oxygen levels and a few hours in suffered an extreme nosebleed . When two Parisian grocers to whom the container had been sent discovered him , he was covered in blood . He 'd fled Cuba after fearing his membership of a dissident group was likely to cause him and his family problems . His request for asylum was denied the same year and he was returned to Cuba . Teen stowaway raises questions about airport security .
A 16-year-old recently survived a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii in a wheel well . Most aircraft stowaways do n't survive , exposed to multiple risks including low oxygen levels , freezing temps and mechanical threats . First aerial stowaway was a 19-year-old golf caddy who illegally boarded the Graf Zeppelin in 1928 .