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2 bodies found in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane in Fort Lauderdale, airline says

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the airline said Tuesday.

The bodies were discovered Monday night during a post-flight maintenance inspection. Their identities are unknown, the airline said, and “the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.”

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office – which has jurisdiction over the airport – and medical examiners were on the scene at JetBlue’s terminal, CNN affiliate WFOR reported. CNN has reached out to the sheriff’s office for more information.

JetBlue said the flight that was involved had most recently operated as Flight 1801 from New York's JFK Airport.

The discovery comes two weeks after a body was found in the wheel bay of a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Maui.

The Federal Aviation Administration says stowaways often use the landing gear compartment, not realizing how little space is available in the bay when the gear is retracted.

Stowaways who aren’t crushed often lose consciousness for lack of oxygen or freezing once the plane is at cruising altitude.

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