Two bodies were discovered in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida, according to the airline. The discovery was made during a routine inspection late Monday night, following the plane’s arrival from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
In a statement, JetBlue confirmed the deaths and said, “The circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.” The airline expressed deep sorrow over the incident, adding, “This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.”
The flight, an Airbus aircraft, departed JFK at around 8:00 PM local time (1:00 AM GMT) and landed in Fort Lauderdale around 11:00 PM. Local police have launched an investigation into how the two individuals gained access to the plane, while a medical examiner’s office is conducting autopsies to determine their causes of death.
This incident follows a similar tragedy just two weeks ago when a body was found in the landing gear compartment of a United Airlines flight that arrived in Hawaii on Christmas Eve. Details surrounding how that individual accessed the compartment and the cause of death remain unclear.
The landing gear compartment of an aircraft is an extremely dangerous environment. Exposed to freezing temperatures, limited oxygen, and the risk of being crushed by retracting landing gear, it poses significant hazards to anyone attempting to hide there.
