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#REDIRECT [[Wheel-well stowaway]] |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} |
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'''Keith Sapsford''' was an Australian who, while a [[wheel-well stowaway]] aboard [[Japan Airlines]] [[Douglas DC-8]], fell 200 feet (61 metres) to his death onto the tarmac below. |
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Born in 1956, Sapsford grew a [[wanderlust]] after traveling the world with his family. His wanderlust grew so much that his father had to enroll him in [[Boys' Town (Engadine)|Boy's Town]] in [[Engadine, New South Wales|Engadine]] to deal with his restlessness, but Sapsford ran away two weeks later on February 21, 1970. A day later, he arrived at [[Kingsford Smith Airport]] and snuck across the tarmac and into the wheel compartment of [[Japan Airlines]] [[Douglas DC-8]]. After reaching a height of 200 feet (61 metres) in the air, Sapsford fell through the compartment, after it reopened to retract its wheels, and died after falling back onto the tarmac. Evidence investigated afterwards confirmed his identity. Research shows that Sapsford would've died anyways, either of [[hypothermia]] or [[asphyxiation]] due to the freezing temperatures and high altitude the airplane would've been prone to. |
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== Early life == |
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Keith Emmanuel Sapsford was born on January 14, 1956, in [[Randwick, New South Wales|Randwick, Australia]] to Charles Sapsford, a university lecturer at [[University of New South Wales]], and Helen Sapsford.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=1970-02-22 |title=A Wanderer |work=[[The Associated Press]]}}</ref> |
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Charles enrolled Keith in [[Boys' Town (Engadine)|Boys' Town]], a [[Roman Catholic]] institution in [[Engadine, New South Wales|Engadine]] after becoming restless from his [[wanderlust]], possibly from traveling around the world with his parents to satisfy his curiosity for travel. According to a Boy's Town spokesmen, Keith ran away just two weeks later from the institution on the morning of February 21, 1970 and was reported missing the following day.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-25 |title=The heartbreaking story behind photo of boy falling from plane above Sydney |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/heartbreaking-story-behind-49-year-old-photograph-034315026.html |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Seaver |first=Carl |date=2022-12-04 |title=The Story of Keith Sapsford: The 14-Year-Old Stowaway |url=https://www.historydefined.net/keith-sapsford-the-14-year-old-stowaway/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-09 |title=Stowaway's bad idea: Tragic story behind falling boy photo |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/stowaways-bad-idea-tragic-story-behind-falling-boy-photo-that-shocked-sydney-and-the-world/SDLNOL3DEIXDOOGTLGPVHJQ4PI/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-24 |title=The Tragic Story Of Keith Sapsford, The 14-Year-Old Stowaway Who Fell From A Plane |url=https://thoughtnova.com/the-tragic-story-of-keith-sapsford-the-14-year-old-stowaway-who-fell-from-a-plane |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=thoughtnova.com |language=en-US}}</ref> He did not intend to go back to his parents because he figured that they would just send him back to the institution.<ref name=":4" /> |
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== Death == |
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On February 22, 1970, a day after his initial escape from Boy's Town and still in his pajamas, Sapsford arrived at [[Kingsford Smith Airport]] and snuck onto the tarmac without detection.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2022-09-09 |title=The 14-Year-Old Boy Who Fell to His Death From an Airliner - History of Yesterday |url=https://historyofyesterday.com/the-14-year-old-boy-who-fell-to-his-death-from-an-airliner/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=historyofyesterday.com |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Margaritoff |first=Marco |date=2023-05-10 |title=This Boy Fell Out Of A Plane In 1970 — And A Photographer Accidentally Captured It |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/keith-sapsford |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=All That's Interesting |language=en-US}}</ref> He then headed towards a [[Japan Airlines]] [[Douglas DC-8]],<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1970-02-23 |title=Death dive from Sydney airliner |work=[[The Age]] |access-date=}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> which was bound for [[Manila]], [[Hong Kong]] and finally for [[Tokyo]]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> (though it remains unclear if he knew it was bound for those places),<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2" /> where he climbed between a 4 x 6 foot (1.2 x 1.8 m) opening into the airplane's wheel compartment.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> After a few seconds after takeoff, as the airplane was traveling about 180 mph (290 km/h), Sapsford was sitting on the door to the wheel compartment until it reopened to retract its wheels, causing him to fall 200 feet (61 metres) to his death upon the tarmac below. He died at the age of 14.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> |
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About 350 people from the TAA witnessed as Sapsford, who appeared to them to be a [[silhouette]] of a sack, fall from the undercarriage of the airplane and skimming onto the tarmac. After the [[Commonwealth Police]] reported to the scene, they stated that they found a youth (Sapsford) wearing a blue [[Short sleeve|short-sleeve shirt]] and blue [[shorts]], with a pair of [[Sandal|sandals]] found nearby, and with a badly-marked face.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> |
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Scientific experts from [[Charles Darwin University]], with the permission of the Commonwealth Police, found [[Handprint|handprints]] and [[Footprint|footprints]], as well as clothing threads within the wheel compartment, confirming Sapsford's identity.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> [[Department of Civil Aviation (Australia)|Department of Civil Aviation]] officials worked with the police to retrace Sapsford's movements.<ref name=":0" /> |
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Technicians believe that Sapsford was within the wheel compartment for some time before takeoff and hadn't fully comprehended that it would open once more.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Airline authorities and medical examiners say that Sapsford probably would've died in two hours in the flight due to [[asphyxiation]] and [[hypothermia]], because the airplane would've been at an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet and a temperature of approximately -50 °C (-58 °F),<ref name=":3" /> especially in his [[Short sleeve|short-sleeve shirt]] and [[shorts]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Additionally, Sapsford would've been exposed to extensive hearing damage from dangerously high decibels of sound from the airplane.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mallasasime |first=Belinda |date=2022-09-29 |title=The Tragic Story of the Boy Who Fell to His Death from a Plane |url=https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-tragic-story-of-the-boy-who-fell-to-his-death-from-a-plane-f6740b34c917 |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Lessons from History |language=en}}</ref> The [[Herald Sun]] also stated that if Sapsford weren't to fall, he would probably die of hypothermia or be crushed by the retracting wheel.<ref name=":1" /> |
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Charles Sapsford, his father, reported to the police that Keith had an urge for adventure and had attained what was described as [[wanderlust]] from their recent travel around the world last year. Keith may have acquired idea of [[Wheel-well stowaway|wheel-well stowaways]] after he and his father discussed the dangers of it, talking about a Spanish boy who died while attempting such event just a few months earlier.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7" /> Charles states: “All my son wanted to do was to see the world. He had itchy feet. His determination to see how the rest of the world lives has cost him his life.”<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":2" /> |
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The Sapsford family has been grieved knowing that Keith would've died regardless, with his father believing that he would've been crushed by the retracting wheel. He has mourned for Keith, until his death<ref name=":2" /> on October 21, 2015, at the age of 93.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:1956 births]] |
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[[Category:1970 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1970]] |
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[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Australia]] |
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[[Category:Australian children]] |
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[[Category:Deaths from falls]] |
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[[Category:Stowaways]] |
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[[Category:Sydney Airport]] |
Latest revision as of 00:55, 10 December 2023
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