Reports indicate that two individuals were found deceased within the landing gear of a JetBlue flight that arrived in Florida on Monday evening.

The plane touched down at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after departing from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The bodies were discovered during a standard post-flight maintenance check, as stated by JetBlue in communications with various news outlets.

On Tuesday morning, YSL News attempted to contact JetBlue Airways but had not received a response.

This incident follows a similar occurrence two weeks ago when a body was found inside the wheel well of a United Airlines aircraft that landed in Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

It remains unclear how these individuals made their way into the landing gear, although stowaways have previously been known to hide in airplane compartments to secure unauthorized passage on flights.

Bodies discovered in JetBlue’s landing gear

A representative from JetBlue confirmed to the media that the deceased were found during a normal inspection post-landing.

The identities of the two individuals have not yet been released, and investigations into how they accessed the landing gear are ongoing, according to statements from JetBlue.

“This is a tragic event, and we are dedicated to cooperating fully with authorities as they seek to uncover the circumstances surrounding this incident,” the statement highlighted in reports noted.

YSL News has also reached out to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.

Similar occurrence happened on a United flight over Christmas

Just two weeks ago, a body was discovered in the wheel compartment of a United Airlines plane that had taken off from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and landed at Kahului Airport in Maui.

According to prior statements made by United, the area where the landing gear is housed was “only accessible from outside the aircraft.”

Landing gear compartments often utilized by stowaways

While it’s not confirmed whether the individuals were trying to stow away, it’s not unusual for people to try to sneak onto flights using wheel wells, nose wells, and other unpressurized spaces.

Stowaways in these unpressurized areas of the aircraft have to face extreme cold, with temperatures plunging as low as minus 58 to minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit, as reported by Reuters. The risks of low oxygen levels and potential injury from moving parts add to the dangers of this treacherous act.

Though a high percentage of individuals attempting to stow away in wheel wells do not survive, there have been rare instances of survival.

For example, a person was found alive in the landing gear compartment of an Algerian airline’s aircraft in Paris last year. Additionally, in January 2022, a man was discovered alive in the nose gear of a cargo flight from South Africa to Amsterdam. Another case involved a man traveling in the landing gear area of an American Airlines flight from Guatemala to Miami in 2021, who required hospitalization upon arrival in the U.S.

In an extraordinary story from 2014, a 15-year-old boy reportedly successfully stowed away in a plane’s wheel well, surviving a 5½-hour flight from San Jose to Maui.

Contributions: Reuters