While details surrounding the incident are limited as of now, this is absolutely tragic…
Routine JetBlue A320 inspection reveals two bodies
This incident happened late at night on Monday, January 6, 2025, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). During a routine post-flight inspection, two bodies were found inside the landing gear of a JetBlue Airbus A320.
The aircraft in question is 18 years old, with the registration code N644JB. The plane had just completed a 2hr43min flight from New York (JFK), taking off at 8:20PM, and landing at 11:03PM.
Details about how this happened are limited as of now, though JetBlue released the following statement:
“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.”
For what it’s worth, on Monday the aircraft flew from Kingston (KIN) to New York to Salt Lake City (SLC) and then back to New York, prior to operating the flight to Fort Lauderdale. More often than not, people who attempt to be a stowaway in the landing gear of an aircraft are flying internationally, as they’re trying to escape the country that they’re in, and feels this is the only means by which they can do so.
So one wonders if the stowaways had actually been in the gear all the way from Jamaica, and just weren’t spotted during previous inspections that day.
This is a good reminder to be grateful
Unfortunately we see attempted stowaways on aircraft with an alarming frequency, typically when people are looking to escape their country for another.
What’s awful is the level of desperation needed to engage in something like this. Per statistics, stowaways on commercial aircraft don’t survive the journey a vast majority of the time. In addition to the risk of being crushed by the gear or falling out during takeoff, there’s also the lack of oxygen and the incredibly cold temperatures, which will make people lose consciousness pretty quickly, once the plane reaches cruising altitude.
People don’t accidentally become stowaways on airplanes. Instead, these are typically people in very desperate situations. I don’t want to get political here or make this about immigration, but rather my takeaway from this is to be incredibly grateful for the life I have, and that I’ll (hopefully) never be in a situation where I’m this desperate to escape.
It’s just so terrible to think that some people are in such a bad situation that they’ll leave their family behind and risk their life in this way, in hopes of a better future. May they rest in peace.
Bottom line
Last night, two bodies were found in the landing gear of a JetBlue Airbus A320, during a routine post-flight inspection at Fort Lauderdale Airport. The aircraft had just landed in New York. A vast majority of the time, stowaways travel internationally, so it’s worth noting that the plane had arrived from Kingston earlier in the day, prior to operating a roundtrip from New York to Salt Lake City.
I’m curious what an investigation reveals into how this happened, and how they weren’t spotted earlier.
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.