Two bodies were found in the landing gear of a JetBlue flight that traveled from New York City to Florida, the airline announced on Tuesday. The remains were found in the landing gear compartment during a routine post-flight maintenance check at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a JetBlue said.
Authorities are investigating how the individuals managed to get into the plane. Deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and medical examiners were present at the airport as the investigation into the deaths got underway. Spokesperson Carey Codd told The Daily Mail that both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Police are investigating if any foul play is involved in the deaths.
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Codd further said that autopsies will be conducted and that the investigation remains ongoing, though no additional details or victim identities are available at this time. The plane had most recently completed Flight 1801 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, arriving in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 11 p.m., according to FlightAware.com.
Authorities said that the identities of the deceased are being withheld as the investigation continues into how they were able to access the aircraft.
“On Monday evening, January 6, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, two individuals were found in the landing gear compartment of one of our aircraft during the routine post-flight maintenance inspection,” JetBlue said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“Tragically, both individuals were deceased. At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.”
An airport spokesperson confirmed that operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport have not been affected by the incident.
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These deaths bear a striking resemblance to a tragic event in Hawaii on Christmas Eve. On that occasion, a body was found on the wheel of a United Airlines jet that had traveled from Chicago to Kahului Airport in Maui.
The unidentified body was found in the wheel well of a Boeing 787-10. United Airlines said at the time that it was unclear how the person had accessed the wheel well.
It remains unclear whether the deaths in Fort Lauderdale and Hawaii are connected, or if the Hawaii incident may have influenced the tragedy in Fort Lauderdale.
Anyone trying to stow away in an airplane’s wheel well faces extreme conditions, with temperatures often well below freezing while the plane is cruising at nearly 40,000 feet.
There have been instances where migrants have either died or survived while stowing away in the wheel wells of planes traveling from Asia or Africa to Europe.
However, both of these recent incidents took place within U.S. airspace, with the victims not intending to cross international borders.
