JetBlue Airlines has reported that crew members have found two dead bodies in the landing gear of one of their planes.
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According to the New York Post, JetBlue reported the incident on Tuesday. The airline was traveling from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The flight touched down late at night at around 11 PM. Flights always undergo routine inspections when they land and before they take off. Workers found both bodies inside the landing gear compartment during a "routine post-flight maintenance inspection."
Authorities are investigating the deaths, and police are trying to determine how the stowaways gained access. There's been no mention of what they may have been doing there or if they were carrying anything.
The Identities Of The Two Stowaways Have Not Been Identified
The New York Post reports that authorities have not disclosed any details about the bodies besides them both being male. Officials have said that the identities of both deceased individuals will be withheld while authorities investigate how they were able to access the landing gear in the first place. A spokesperson for JetBlue said, "This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred."
According to the Independent, it's not unusual for people to try to sneak onto aircraft around the landing gear and wheel and nose wells. The issue is that these areas are unpressurized and incredibly dangerous. The scariest part is that temperatures can drop well below freezing, potentially as severe as -76F.
The last few weeks have not been kind as far as air travel is concerned. We recently reported on a Swiss International Airline that ran into engine problems, which prompted an emergency landing in Graz. The engine issues were so severe that the cabin was filled with smoke. Emergency services managed to evacuate all passengers, but one crew member died after being rushed to hospital.
Some other flight providers are filing for bankruptcy, such as Silver Airlines. Like many, the company has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic, with customer numbers simply not returning to sustainable amounts.
