hello fellow intriguers today let's embark on the scary story of Keith sapsford the falling stowaway an Infamous photograph from 1970 shows Keith sapsford falling from a departing plane on February 22 of that year 14-year-old Keith sapsford a resident of Sydney Australia's randwick suburb climbed into the wheel well of a Tokyo bound Douglas dce this was the last decision he ever made but before we get into the tragic story let's talk about Keith it just 14 years of age Keith sapsford father described him as a curious kid with itchy feet and an urge to keep on the moving in fact Keith's Wanderlust had already caused his family problems even before the tragedy that claimed his life living in a suburb of Sydney New South Wales the family took a trip overseas in an effort to curb Keith's seemingly insatiable desire for travel upon their return however Keith's proclivities became even more prominent prompting Keith's family to send him to Boy toown a c institution in South Sydney hoping it would straighten him out within weeks however Keith escaped Boy's Town and was on his way to one last fatal Journey Keith's Father Charles sapsford was a university lecturer in mechanical and industrial engineering he understood realities of attempting to stow away in a plane's undercarriage such attempts usually resulted in the Stow away's death knowing his son's Restless nature he tried to explain the dangers of such an action telling Keith the story of a boy in Spain who who hid in the undercarriage of an aircraft and died there he detailed the risks Associated not only with the mechanical parts of the plane but with exposure to the kinds of high altitudes of flying aircraft reaches unfortunately his warnings didn't have a desired effect on his son in the history of air travel no wheel will stowaways have been completely successful in their Journey even if a stowaway manages to survive takeoff the extremely low air pressure and temperatures at a plane's cruising altitude POS sign ific dangers to anyone on the aircraft's exterior while in Flight a wheel well stowaway may also contract hypothermia or hypoxia a state in which oxygen isn't sufficiently available at the tissue level leading to harmful and sometimes fatal effect lasting hearing damage is also a significant risk even if a Stow survives a plane's takeoff and flight despite ultra low temperatures and atmospheric pressure the plane's Landing poses another significant hurdle the wheels movements could either crush the stow away or fling them from the plane in 1970 airport security measures were not what they are today and Keith sapsford was able to make his way onto the tarmac of the Sydney airport where he spotted A Douglas d8 preparing for boarding no one knows if whether Keith knew the plane's destination or simply didn't care his desire for travel may have been enough to override any interest in where he was going just as it was enough to override his father's warnings about the dangers of stowing away the plane he chose was bound for Tokyo but Keith never made it that far he crawled up into the plane's wheel well though he wouldn't remain there long while we can only speculate about what went through Keith sapsford mind as he snuck into the Douglas DC Eight's wheel well that February day he perhaps thought he would be safer in the wheel well than the stowaway in his father's story unfortunately for Keith he didn't account for the fact that the wheel well would reopen shortly after take off for the plane to retract its landing gear when this occurred the plane was a mere 200 ft above the runway but that was more than enough Keith fell from the ascending plane and his young life was tragically cut short amateur photographer John Gilpin was at the Sydney airport to test out a new lens on his camera he was taking photos of the ill- fated Douglas Duc eight Bound for Tokyo as it left the tarmac but he had no idea he would capture one of the most dramatic and tragic photos in history as he snapped pictures of the plane taking off he happened to capture the exact moment when Keith sapsford fell from the plane's wheel well and plunged 200 ft to the tarmac below a week after Keith sapsford fell to his death from a departing Douglas DC 8 John Gilpin was developing the photos he took at the airport that day as he did so he noticed something unexpected in one of the pictures a human body caught in midair as it plummeted from the bottom of a departing aircraft completely unaware of the incident Gilpin snapped a picture at the precise moment Keith fell from the plane this was the last photograph of the young man taken while he was alive and one of the most startling in photographic history despite its many risks numerous people attempt to stow away an airplane wheel wells even to this day between 1947 and 2012 the Federal Aviation Administration identified some 96 stowaway attempts on 85 different flights of these only 23 survived despite this High mortality rate in heightened airport security attempts to stow away on commercial flights continue with cases as recent as January 2022 too while Keith sapsford may have been desperate to travel his case is still unusual among wheel well stowaways while most stay's precise motives remain unknown as they rarely reach their destination alive many are refugees desperate to flee dangerous situations at home well that's it for our video today and we hope we left you intrigued thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe and hit the like button to help us out until next time [Music]