The California teen who survived nearly six hours in the wheel well of an airborne jet can’t believe he lived to tell his story — and spoke for the first time Wednesday about the harrowing flight.
Abdi said he wasn’t scared despite being 35,000 feet in the air, and is happily surprised he survived the 5¹/₂-hour journey.
“It was above the clouds. I could see through the little holes,” Abdi said of the view from his getaway vehicle.
When asked if he can believe he survived, he said, “no.”
The Somali immigrant said he had been planning his escape for a while, but held off because he knew hopping the fence at Mineta San Jose International Airport was risky. While his escape didn’t end tragically, Abdi warned others against following in his footsteps.
“They shouldn’t run away because sometimes they will end up dying,” Abdi said friends had told him.
The teen said he was desperate to leave his Santa Clara home and jumped on the first plane headed west.
“I only did it because I didn’t want to live with my stepmom,” he said.
“Second of all, I wanted to find my mom. I haven’t seen her since I was young.” Abdi hasn’t seen his birth mother, who lives in an Ethiopian refugee camp, since he was 7.
Abdi will be leaving his temporary foster home soon to live with his aunt in the Minneapolis area. He is still unsure how he will get there, as the Transportation Security Administration has yet to say whether he will be allowed on a plane again.
He recently regained his hearing and reported he is is physically well.