Keith Sapsford is the young man in the photograph in one of the most chilling moments. He is free-falling full speed to a disastrous end with no one helping him, or rather, no one knowing what is happening.
On February 24, 1970, 14-year-old Keith Sapsfor, originally from Australia, boarded a Japan Airlines DC-8 plane.
But he did it absurdly and out of all common sense: stood on the landing gear and waited for hours for the plane to take off.
During takeoff, at an altitude of about 100 meters, the retraction movement of the wheels caused Keith to fall.
A photograph by chance
John Gilpin, an Australian photographer, he was taking photos of the planes taking off from the airport that same day, and he took a photo of Sapsford in the air as it fell. Gilpin didn’t see anything until, a week later, he developed the negatives.
Keith’s father remembers him as a boy full of life who wanted to see the world. He was very restless and had often run away from home. The parents had already taken him on a trip around the world to satisfy the boy’s curiosity.
But upon his return, Keith again ran away from his parents’ house despite their attempts to help him. On February 21, 1970, Keith disappeared.
A tragic accident
So on February 24, he headed to the Sydney airportclimbed onto the wheel of an airplane and entered the compartment where the wheel is stored during flight.
Technicians believe that Keith remained hidden there for several hours before takeoff.
The young man stayed hidden until the plane took off, then the plane retracted the wheels. It was at this point that Keith fell from a height of between 60 and 100 meters.
The doctors said that It would have died either way due to low temperatures or lack of oxygen.
Keith was a boy who wanted to see the world “his way.” Finally that absurd decision – to get on that plane – cost him his life.
An unfortunate story, don’t you think?
