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== Death == |
== Death == |
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On February 22, 1970, a day after his initial escape from Boy's Town and still in his morning clad, 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 to [[Manila]], [[Hong Kong]] and finally to [[Tokyo]]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> (though it remains unclear if he knew it was bound to those place),<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2" /> where he climbed between a 4x6 foot opening into the airplane's wheel compartment.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> After a few |
On February 22, 1970, a day after his initial escape from Boy's Town and still in his morning clad, 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 to [[Manila]], [[Hong Kong]] and finally to [[Tokyo]]<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> (though it remains unclear if he knew it was bound to those place),<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2" /> where he climbed between a 4x6 foot opening into the airplane's wheel compartment.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> After a few seconds after takeoff, when the airplane was traveling about 180 miles an hour, Sapsford was sitting on the door of the wheel compartment until the it reopened to retract its wheels, causing him to fall 200 feet 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" /> |
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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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" /> |
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== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
Revision as of 12:18, 9 December 2023
Keith Sapsford was an Australian wheel-well stowaway who aboard Japan Airlines Douglas DC-8, where he fell 200 feet to his death onto the tarmac below.
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 Boy's Town in 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 200 feet in the air, Sapsford fell through the compartment after reopened to retract its wheels and died on the tarmac. Evidence investigated after confirmed his identity. Research shows that Sapsford would've died anyways, either of hypothermia of asphyxiation due to the freezing temperatures and high altitude the airplane would've been prone to.
Early life
Keith Emmanuel Sapsford was born on January 14, 1956, in Randwick, Australia to Charles Sapsford, a university lecturer at University of New South Wales, and Helen Sapsford.[1]
Charles enrolled Keith in Boys' Town, a Roman Catholic institution in 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.[1][2][3][4][5] He didn't intend to go back to his parents because he figured that they would just send him back to the institution.[3]
Death
On February 22, 1970, a day after his initial escape from Boy's Town and still in his morning clad, Sapsford arrived at Kingsford Smith Airport and snuck onto the tarmac without detection.[1][4][5][6][7] He then headed towards a Japan Airlines Douglas DC-8,[7][8][6] which was bound to Manila, Hong Kong and finally to Tokyo[8][3] (though it remains unclear if he knew it was bound to those place),[3][5][7] where he climbed between a 4x6 foot opening into the airplane's wheel compartment.[3][8] After a few seconds after takeoff, when the airplane was traveling about 180 miles an hour, Sapsford was sitting on the door of the wheel compartment until the it reopened to retract its wheels, causing him to fall 200 feet to his death upon the tarmac below. He died at the age of 14.[2][6][7][8]
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 shirt and blue shorts, with a pair of sandals found nearby, and with a badly-marked face.[5][8]
Scientific experts from Charles Darwin University, with the permission of the Commonwealth police, found handprints and footprints, as well as clothing threads within the wheel compartment, confirming Sapsford's identity.[1][7] Department of Civil Aviation officials worked with the police to retrace Sapsford's movements.[1]
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.[2][4][6] Airline authorities and medical examiners say that Sapsford probably would've died within 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),[8] especially in his short-sleeve shirt and shorts,[2][7] and also would've been exposed to extensive hearing damage from dangerously high decibels of sound.[9] The Herald Sun has also stated that if Sapsford weren't to fall, he would probably die of hypothermia or be crushed by the retracting wheel.[2]
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 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.[2][6] 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.”[6][7]
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[7] on October 21, 2015, at the age of 93.[2][5]
References
- ^ a b c d e "A Wanderer". The Associated Press. February 22, 1970.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The heartbreaking story behind photo of boy falling from plane above Sydney". Yahoo News. February 25, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Seaver, Carl (December 4, 2022). "The Story of Keith Sapsford: The 14-Year-Old Stowaway". Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Stowaway's bad idea: Tragic story behind falling boy photo". NZ Herald. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "The Tragic Story Of Keith Sapsford, The 14-Year-Old Stowaway Who Fell From A Plane". thoughtnova.com. July 24, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "The 14-Year-Old Boy Who Fell to His Death From an Airliner - History of Yesterday". historyofyesterday.com. September 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Margaritoff, Marco (May 10, 2023). "This Boy Fell Out Of A Plane In 1970 — And A Photographer Accidentally Captured It". All That's Interesting. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Death dive from Sydney airliner". The Age. February 23, 1970.
- ^ Mallasasime, Belinda (September 29, 2022). "The Tragic Story of the Boy Who Fell to His Death from a Plane". Lessons from History. Retrieved December 9, 2023.