A shocking discovery Monday evening has raised fresh concerns about aviation safety in the United States.
JetBlue officials found two deceased individuals in the landing gear compartment of an aircraft that had landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
The plane had departed from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport earlier that evening.
The aircraft, believed to be Flight 1801, landed in Fort Lauderdale just after 11 p.m., according to data from FlightAware.com. The grim discovery was made during a routine post-flight maintenance inspection.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in a statement to the New York Post.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical examiners arrived at the scene shortly after the discovery. Both individuals were pronounced dead on-site.
Authorities identification
Authorities have identified the deceased as two males, though their identities have not yet been disclosed. Investigators are working to determine how the individuals ended up in the landing gear compartment and what caused their deaths.
BREAKING: Two dead bodies found in the landing gear of a JetBlue plane that flew from NYC to Florida, ‘This is sickening.’
— Resist Times (@resistupdates) January 7, 2025
Discovered during routine inspection after Flight 1801 landed in Fort Lauderdale from JFK, investigation is underway.
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Medical examiners are conducting autopsies to establish the exact cause of death. It is not uncommon for individuals stowing away in landing gear compartments to succumb to severe cold, oxygen deprivation, or crushing during flights.
Despite the tragedy, operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport continue as usual.
This discovery comes just days after a similar incident in Hawaii. On New Year’s Eve, an unidentified male body was found in the wheel well of an airplane at Kahului Airport in Maui. That body also remains unidentified.
The Hawaii incident occurred amid technical issues with American Airlines that caused significant delays for nearly 1,000 flights.
Incidents like these highlight ongoing concerns about airport security and the risks faced by individuals attempting to stow away in aircraft landing gear. Aviation experts note that breaches of this kind often involve desperate individuals seeking to flee their circumstances, though the journey is almost always fatal.
Authorities and airlines are expected to review protocols and procedures to prevent such tragic occurrences in the future. As investigations continue, the aviation community grapples with the questions these incidents raise about both security measures and humanitarian crises that may drive people to such desperate actions.
The tragic discoveries serve as stark reminders of the dangers of stowing away on aircraft and the ongoing challenges in maintaining security across busy international airports.