Two decomposed bodies found in JetBlue plane landing gear

Two decomposed bodies were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane from New York City after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the airline said Tuesday.

It’s the latest in a string of incidents that have raised concerns over airline security.

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.”

JetBlue said the plane had most recently operated as Flight 1801 from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The flight landed in Fort Lauderdale at 11:10 pm, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

“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,” an unidentified person said on Broward County Sheriff’s Office radio at 11:26 p.m., as recorded on the website Broadcastify. Signal 7 is the law enforcement code for a deceased person.

“The individuals who (are) deceased are both males. Beyond that, their identities at this time are unknown,” said Carey Codd, spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

“The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death of both individuals,” Codd added. The bodies were badly decomposed, according to a law enforcement official.

The investigation is not impacting operations at the airport, Broward County Aviation Department spokesperson Arlene Satchell told CNN. “The passengers who arrived on the flight had already deplaned,” Satchell said.

“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred,” JetBlue said in a statement.

“TSA is working closely with the airline, airport, FAA, and law enforcement officials and this incident remains under investigation,” a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration told CNN in a statement. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, declined comment on the deaths.