Two Found Dead in JetBlue Plane’s Wheel Well at Fort Lauderdale Airport

Two individuals were discovered dead in the wheel well of a JetBlue aircraft after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday night, the airline confirmed Tuesday. The bodies were found during a routine post-flight maintenance inspection, and their identities remain unknown.

JetBlue stated that the plane had recently operated as Flight 1801 from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The flight landed in Fort Lauderdale at 11:10 p.m., according to flight-tracking data. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office and medical examiners were on the scene to investigate the incident.

“The circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation,” JetBlue said in a statement. The airline emphasized its commitment to working with authorities to determine how the individuals gained access to the wheel well.

The discovery comes just two weeks after a similar incident involving a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Maui, where a stowaway was found in the landing gear compartment. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notes that stowaways often underestimate the dangers of hiding in wheel wells, which can lead to fatal outcomes due to lack of oxygen, extreme cold, or being crushed when the landing gear retracts.

This incident raises concerns about airport security, particularly during the busy holiday travel season. In recent months, there have been multiple reports of stowaways attempting to board flights without tickets. For example, a woman successfully boarded a Delta flight from New York to Paris in late November, while another stowaway was discovered on a Delta flight departing Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in December.

Arlene Satchell, a spokesperson for the Broward County Aviation Department, confirmed that the investigation did not disrupt airport operations. The FAA and local authorities are continuing their investigation into the incident.