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Offense

Stowaway

Immigration and Border Offenses

A stowaway, or clandestine traveller, is a person who secretly boards a vehicle such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, a cargo truck, or a bus, in order to travel without authorization or payment. Some stow away to avoid paying for transportation, while others aim to enter another country without a visa or other required permission. Stowing away is dangerous as well as unlawful; deaths have occurred during such attempts, particularly in cases of train surfing and wheel-well stowaways on aircraft.

Facts
Notable Example
1994 Flight PH844 incident, in which the body of a deceased male stowaway was found jammed in the aircraft's undercarriage 1
Jurisdiction Variation
Illegal in most jurisdictions to stow away on aircraft, boats or trains, with consequences of fines or imprisonment that vary by country and mode of transport 1
Classification
Offense Grade
Minor or Summary Offense 1
Connections

Has Offense Grade

Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.

Sources
1. Stowaway (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stowaway, lead paragraph
    A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus.
  • Legal consequences section
    Stowaways may risk being fined or imprisoned, since it is illegal in most jurisdictions to embark on aircraft, boats or trains as stowaways.
  • By transport mode, Air travel subsection
    In 1994, Flight PH844 discovered the body of a deceased male stowaway was jamming the starboard carriageway.
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