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In their never-ending competition to see which airline can produce the most outrageous stories, JetBlue Airways appears to have moved ahead of Spirit Airlines with this tale of two people being found dead in a JetBlue plane’s landing gear. The grim discovery was made at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport late Monday.
JetBlue reported the two people were discovered dead in one of their plane’s landing gear during “routine post-flight maintenance inspection.” The company added, “At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.”
According to NBC 6 South Florida, the identities of the two people were unknown, but both were male. Broward County Sheriff’s Office responded to the airport at approximately 11:30 p.m. and pronounced both of them dead at the scene.
The last trip the plane had made, JetBlue Airways reported, was flight 1801 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. However, it originated in Kingston, Jamaica, then flew to JFK, then Salt Lake City International Airport, back to JFK, and then on to Fort Lauderdale.
“It certainly is a heartbreaking and very tragic situation,” Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Carey Codd told media at a news conference Tuesday morning.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport stated that the incident caused no impact to airport operations.
On Sunday, it was reported that JetBlue Airways is facing a $2 million fine after a federal government investigation revealed that it was “operating multiple chronically delayed flights.” It is the first time the U.S. Department of Transportation has imposed a penalty on an airline for consistently delaying flights.
Half of the money, or $1 million, will go towards compensating passengers impacted. All future compensation must be valued at a minimum of $75 for each harmed passenger, according to Fox Business.
“Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Friday in a statement. “The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”
Your move, Spirit Airlines.