HONOLULU — The father of a teenager who survived a flight from California to Hawaii tucked in a jetliner’s wheel well has told Voice of America his son missed Africa, where he used to live, and was struggling in school.
HONOLULU — The father of a teenager who survived a flight from California to Hawaii tucked in a jetliner’s wheel well has told Voice of America his son missed Africa, where he used to live, and was struggling in school.
Voice of America reported Wednesday that Abdilahi Yusuf Abdi of Santa Clara, Calif., said his 15-year-old son was always talking about going back to Africa, where his grandparents live.
A school official says the boy came to the U.S. four years ago.
Law enforcement officials say the boy climbed into the wheel well before the plane took off for Maui on Sunday morning. Officials say video shows the boy jumping out of the plane after landing.
Abdi told VOA that Honolulu police notified him Sunday of his son’s journey. The teen remains hospitalized in Honolulu.