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A South African who survived an 11-hour flight from Johannesburg to London after hiding in the landing gear of a plane has recounted the last words he exchanged with a friend whose body fell from the same British Airways flight when he landed at Heathrow.
“He said, ‘We made it,’ and then I passed out from lack of oxygen,” said the man, who was then known as Themba and who has spoken publicly for the first time about the desperate journey they both took in 2015.
While he survived and has been living for the past five years in Liverpool, where he goes by the name of Justin, the young Mozambican migrant who came with him died from multiple injuries after falling 430 meters (1,400 feet) from the flight in June. of 2015..
The man who died was named in The Guardian in 2016 as Carlito Vale, who had grown up in an orphanage in Mozambique’s second city, Beira, and who had ventured to Uganda and South Africa before trying to find a new life in London.
The men had prepared to stowaway on a BA flight over the Johannesburg runway by studying aircraft designs in a book, Justin told The Guardian. This week, her and Vale’s story will be told in a Channel 4 documentary, The Man Who Fell from the Sky.
“We thought we could go for Delta, but we thought we would go for a [flight] … Let’s take one to London, ”Justin said. Neither of them had any idea how dangerous their plan was.
While it has long been believed the men may have had insider help getting into the airport, he insists they did it on their own, jumping perimeter fences and layering on clothing in preparation.
“It was not far from the engine. You could feel it outside when it was rotating, ”he told documentary filmmakers. He suffered burn marks after wrapping his arms in cables, which ultimately prevented him from falling. “You could even see the houses down there when the plane was flying.”
The next thing you can remember is waking up on the London runway, with a broken leg.
Vale and Justin, who grew up in a poor neighborhood in Johannesburg and experienced gang violence while living on the streets, had dreamed of a new beginning in Europe. Vale planned to bring his family members from Mozambique after a few years.
“I remember when I spoke with Carlito… he told me he wanted to be a DJ and that he would come back to find his daughter after a few years,” Justin said. “I really wanted the best for him, so I thought it was a good idea for us because we were looking for a better future.”
He recalled the moment, after waking up in a hospital bed, when police investigators showed him a photograph of Vale.
“When the plane landed, I fell down and I remember thinking that Carlito must still be in it,” she said. “But then they showed me the passport and said: do you know this guy? I said yes. They told me he didn’t make it and I was surprised.
Justin has embraced a new life in Liverpool and is slowly building a new circle of friends while harboring hopes of pursuing a music career.
“I find it easy here, because the people here are kind and nice,” he tells documentary filmmaker Rich Bentley in the film, after meeting for the first time on a Liverpool street corner. “Each one has their own situation and leaves because of something that is happening in their environment,” he says, while immigration is once again in the news with the death of people who cross the Canal in small boats.
