Law enforcement have shared new details following an investigation into the two bodies that were found on a plane after it landed in Florida this week.
The JetBlue flight had departed from JFK airport in New York shortly before 8pm on Monday (January 6) and landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida, at 11:10pm, some 28 minutes later than scheduled.
Upon arrival, an airline worker inspecting the plane’s landing gear stumbled onto two dead bodies inside the wheel well.
A spokesperson for the airline issued a statement that confirmed two people were found deceased in the compartment of the aircraft but did not reveal their identities while the authorities carry out their investigation.
Now, new details have emerged as the case continues.
Radioing into Broward County Sheriff’s Office at 11:26pm, an unidentified person said: “A gate technician in the landing gear area noticed two males who appear to be Signal 7, advised they are not moving in the landing gear area,” as recorded on the website Broadcastify. Signal 7 is cops code for a dead body.
Carey Codd, of the force, told CNN: “The individuals who [are] deceased are both males. Beyond that, their identities at this time are unknown.”
A law enforcement official also told the outlet that the two bodies were badly decomposed when they were found, which could indicate the men were onboard for a long time or possibly even multiple flights.
“The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death of both individuals,” Codd said.
The Airbus A320 jet had had a busy day on Monday, according to FlightAware data, as it departed from Kingston, Jamaica, at 1:10am before landing in JFK a little more than three and a half hours later.
The jet then headed for Salt Lake City International, landing at 10:34am after a five hour flight, and back again to JFK before concluding the day in Florida.
The Federal Aviation Administration warns the landing gear compartment is deadly as many don’t realize how small the space becomes when the wheels are retracted.
Stowaways can lose consciousness from a lack of oxygen or can die from either being crushed to death or freezing once the jet reaches its cruising altitude.
A 2011 FAA report found 80 percent of people who crawl into an aircraft’s external compartment die.
The Transportation Security Administration continues to investigate the deaths with the help of local law enforcement and the FAA, but the National Transportation Safety Board said it is not investigating because ‘it appears the incident had no involvement of the flight crew or operation of the airplane’.
JetBlue also said in a statement: “This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.”
UNILAD has contacted Broward County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
