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Authorities have identified two teenagers whose bodies were discovered in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after nearly three months of investigation. The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed the identities of the stowaways as 18-year-old Jeik Aniluz Lusi and 16-year-old Elvis Borques Castillo. The confirmation of their identities followed extensive DNA testing.
The nationalities of the two boys have not been disclosed since their bodies were found on January 6. On January 9, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, stated via social media that the deceased were likely not Jamaican nationals, a claim initially reported by several media outlets. She noted that, while more information was forthcoming, formal reports were still pending as investigations continued.
Flight records indicated that the aircraft had a packed flight schedule, including journeys from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic to New York’s JFK Airport, and subsequent routes between Jamaica, New York, and Salt Lake City, Utah, before reaching South Florida. The stowaways’ presence in the JetBlue landing gear area raised significant concerns about security protocols.
A History of Stowaways
The tragic incident has reignited discussions about aviation safety and the hazardous nature of stowing away on aircraft. Throughout history, there have been numerous documented cases of individuals attempting to hide in the wheel wells of planes. Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the Department of Transportation, highlighted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tracked 128 cases globally from 1947 to 2020, with a shocking 75% of these attempts resulting in fatalities due to severe conditions, including hypothermia and oxygen deprivation.
Schiavo remarked that historically, Cuba had been a common origin point for wheel-well stowaways due to immigration pressures and family reunification aspirations. However, she underscored the inherent risks involved, noting that survivors often endure lasting physical issues from extreme conditions encountered during their perilous journeys.
“This continuing trend signifies a serious lapse in aviation security,” she stated, emphasizing the stringent surveillance and background checks mandated for airport staff.
Recent Incidents Underline Risks
This incident is reminiscent of another event from December 2024, when the remains of a stowaway were discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight traveling from Chicago to Maui. At cruising altitudes, wheel wells are subject to extreme conditions, remaining unpressurized and unheated, with temperatures that can plummet significantly. Survival in such environments is exceedingly rare, typically resulting in death from hypothermia or asphyxiation.
The Perils of Concealing Oneself in Plane Undercarriages
After the findings in January, aviation attorney and pilot John Gagliano remarked that hiding in an aircraft’s undercarriage ranks among the most hazardous stowaway tactics. “It’s extremely loud, frigid, and there is very little oxygen available, making it an incredibly dangerous gamble,” he noted.
Other Stowaway Examples
The unsettling discovery of the bodies astonished passengers, yet stowaways in landing gear compartments have occurred in the past. In 2021, for example, a man survived a flight from Guatemala by concealing himself in a wheel well. Gagliano stressed that if an individual is determined to bypass security, with adequate knowledge or assistance, stowing away is indeed feasible. However, he reiterated the numerous risks involved, including exposure to intense noise levels, lack of oxygen at cruising heights, and extremely low temperatures.
“At 30,000 feet, temperatures can drop as much as 90 degrees from ground level,” Gagliano warned, illustrating the stark contrast between ground and air temperature. “If the ground temperature is 50 degrees, it can plummet to -42 degrees at altitude, leading to fatal consequences very quickly.”
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