Two bodies found in wheel well of Jetblue airliner

Two bodies were found in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue aircraft at a South Florida airport, authorities said.

The bodies were located in the wheel well area Monday night at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the airline said in a statement to The Associated Press.

They were discovered during a routine post-flight maintenance inspection, JetBlue said.

The aircraft had arrived in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 11 p.m. from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

“At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation,” JetBlue’s statement said.

Paramedics declared both of them dead at the scene, the Broward County sheriff’s office said Tuesday. The agency’s homicide and crime scene units are investigating, it said. The individuals’ names were not immediately released.

It’s the second time over the past month that a body has been found in the wheel well of an airplane. In late December, a body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Maui from Chicago.

The airline industry in recent months has also been dealing with unticketed passengers found in cabins.



(AP Photo Chris O'Meara)