A sixteen year old Californian evaded airport security, slipped into a plane’s wheel well, and survived the subsequent flight to Hawaii, despite subzero temperatures and a potentially lethal deficit of oxygen.

CNN News reported that the boy was running away from home when he bypassed airport security. The manner in which the teen evaded security, by reportedly climbing a fence, has caused astonishment among airport officials and Carlmont students.

Senior Mitchell Jang said, “The incident worries me because the boy didn’t even have a plan to get in, he just was able to jump over a fence. I think it really shows a big hole in the security system, and that deserves attention.”

This breach in security is under investigation by airport authorities as well as the FBI.

Sophomore Travis Modena said, “I think the security system is slacking. It’s dangerous that the boy was able get by everything so easily, and it shows that security needs to be beefed up.”

Post 9/11 airport security has become increasingly focused on potential acts of terrorism. Some suggest that the current security system’s view has become too narrow.

Junior Raffi Samurkashian said, “Modern day airport security can be biased because there is so much fear of terrorism that they can sometimes lose sight of what is real and what isn’t real. Focus is often directed towards people who fit a stereotypical terrorist profile, whether it be in appearance or their name.”

Samurkashian said, “The quintessential Arab is not always the threat.  I was once pulled out of the line at the airport and interrogated because I had an Arabic scarf in my backpack. The event with the boy shows that possible threats can come from any source, not just someone who looks suspicious.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, 105 people have attempted to fly inside wheel wells on 94 flights worldwide. Only 25 of those people survived.

The survival of the unnamed teenager poses the question of whether future actions of this nature will be attempted by others.

Sophomore Brent Jang said, “The fact that the boy survived could encourage other people to try to repeat the actions that he made. When people are teenagers, many feel empowered and attempt things that are not necessarily safe choices.”

The physical effects that the flight caused to the body of the teenager are still under investigation.