US authorities seek to identify bodies found in JetBlue wheel well 

Authorities in the United States have been working to identify two bodies discovered in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane shortly after it landed in the southern state of Florida.

The bodies were found on Monday night during a routine post-flight inspection, according to the airline. The jet had arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

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

Paramedics declared both of the individuals dead at the scene, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

It said the department’s homicide and crime scene units are investigating. Further details were not immediately released, and it was not clear how long the bodies had been on the plane.

Wheel wells have been commonly used by individuals seeking to secretly board aircraft. However, hiding in the opening, where wheels are retracted after takeoff, often proves deadly.

A 2011 FAA report examined 89 cases across the world of individuals stowing away in the external compartments of aircraft, such as the wheel wells. Just 18 survived, indicating an 80-percent fatality rate.

The causes of death include being crushed by the landing gear, dying from engine heat and falling from the plane. Individuals are also killed by the extreme cold at high altitudes and the lack of oxygen.

Still, there have been some high-profile instances of people surviving such journeys in recent years, including a 16-year-old runaway who survived a five-hour flight from California to Maui, Hawaii, while hiding in a wheel well in 2014.

The incident on Monday was the second time in less than a month that a body was discovered in the wheel well of a plane in the US.

On December 24, a body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Maui after taking off in Chicago, Illinois.

The body has yet to be identified.