The bodies of two men who were found dead inside the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue flight were severely decomposed when they were discovered, sources say.
Workers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport in Florida made the horrifying discovery Monday night during a routine post-flight maintenance check.
The flight had arrived in the Sunshine State after taking off from New York’s JFK airport.
The bodies were found in the plane’s landing gear compartment, the airline told DailyMail.com. Authorities are investigating how the individuals got on the plane.
According to a law enforcement official who spoke with cnnThe bodies of both were said to be “very decomposed.”
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical examiners were seen outside the airport as officials began investigating the deaths.
Spokeswoman Carey Codd told DailyMail.com that the victims, who she later confirmed were men, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have not yet officially confirmed the nationality of the two men, with The Jamaican Observer When reporting, it is believed that they are from the Caribbean nation.
This JetBlue flight was discovered to have two bodies in the wheel well after flying from New York’s JFK Airport to Fort Lauderdale International Airport on Monday night.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical examiners were seen outside the airport as officials conducted their investigation into two bodies found in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane.
Codd added that autopsies will be performed and the investigation is ongoing, but could not provide the victims’ identities or further details.
Data from FlightAware indicates that the Airbus A320 had been in service all day on Monday, beginning with a flight from Jamaica to New York.
This was followed by two flights to Salt Lake City before returning to JFK, and then the final flight to Florida.
According to a police radio call heard by CNN, an unidentified person said: “A gate technician in the landing gear area noticed two men who appear to be Signal 7 and informed them that they were not moving in the landing gear area.
JetBlue told DailyMail.com: ‘On Monday evening, January 6, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, two people were found in the landing gear compartment of one of our aircraft during routine maintenance inspection. after the flight.
‘Tragically, both people died. At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they gained access to 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.”
A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson said they are investigating the deaths with the help of the airline, local police and the FAA.
Data from FlightAware indicates that the Airbus A320 had been in service all day on Monday, beginning with a flight from Jamaica to New York, seen here.
The deaths have not affected operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, an airport spokesperson confirmed.
The incident bears an eerie similarity to another tragic incident that occurred in Hawaii on Christmas Eve.
At that time, a body was discovered at the wheel of a United Airlines plane that had flown to Kahului Airport on Maui from Chicago.
The body, which has not yet been identified, was discovered in the wheel well of the Boeing 787-10.
United said at the time that it was unclear how the person had accessed the wheel well.
Anyone stowing away in the wheel well of an airplane faces prolonged temperatures well below freezing as the plane cruises at about 40,000 feet.
In the past, migrants have died or survived while stowing away in the wheels of airplanes traveling from Asia or Africa to European countries.
But both recent incidents occurred within United States airspace and the victims did not cross any international borders.