Aviation authorities are investigating how a man breached security and hid himself in the wheel well of a Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

The stowaway fell after Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 119 had just taxied to Gate F33 at Changi Airport's Terminal Two after a 55-minute flight from Kuala Lumpur just before 11 p.m. last Thursday.

Osama R. M. Shublaq, said to be a Palestinian, stunned ground crew after he fell nearly three meters from the wheel well where the front landing gear and two nose wheels are stowed during flight.

He was dizzy from lack of oxygen but was apparently alright when police took him away.

The short-duration flight (about 30 minutes) could have saved Shublaq because the twin-engine Boeing 777-200 was on a lower flight level than those taken by passenger planes on long haul journeys, aviation authorities told the Straits Times.

Because the wheel well is not pressurized, the lower flight altitude could have helped the stowaway to breathe easier, authorities said. That would not be possible in the thin air at around 35,000 to 40,000 feet, the cruising altitude for most airlines.