Stock image of a JetBlue Airbus A321. Photo:
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Authorities in Florida are investigating after the bodies of two people were found in the landing gear compartment of a plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The dead pair were discovered inside a JetBlue aircraft on Monday, Jan. 6 “during the routine post-flight maintenance inspection,” the airline told PEOPLE in a statement.
“Tragically, both individuals were deceased,” the statement added. “At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.”
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.”
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JetBlue airlines arrives from Tampa at JFK International Airport in New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty
The airline told NBC News that the plane had flown to Fort Lauderdale from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. It’s unknown how the two people accessed the plane.
According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, the aircraft landed in Fort Lauderdale at 11.10 p.m. local time.
Broward County Aviation Department spokesperson Arlene Satchell told CNN that operations at the airport had not been affected by the investigation.
Jet Blue airplanes at JFK International Airport in February 2007. AP Photo/Rick Maiman
This news comes after a body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight to Hawaii on Christmas Eve.
The plane traveled from Chicago O’Hare on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and landed in Maui at 2.12 p.m. local time.
According to a statement from United Airlines obtained by PEOPLE, the body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears of the Boeing 787-10 plane when it arrived at Kahului Airport.
“At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the wheel well,” the airline stated at the time, adding that they were working with law enforcement to find out more information.
