FORT LAUDERDALE- Authorities have identified two teens found dead in the landing gear of a JetBlue (B6) aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) on January 6, 2025, using DNA testing.
The discovery raised serious aviation security concerns after a routine inspection revealed the stowaways.
Photo: JetBlue Airbus A320DNA Testing Confirms JetBlue Stowaway Identity
The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed the identities of Jeik Aniluz Lusi, 18, and Elvis Borques Castillo, 16, nearly three months after their bodies were found on JetBlue (B6) Flight B61801, which landed at Fort Lauderdale (FLL) from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This incident underscores the deadly risks and security breaches tied to wheel-well stowaways.
The discovery of the two bodies aboard the JetBlue (B6) aircraft underscores a persistent vulnerability in airport security.
The flight had operated multiple routes, including from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP) to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), before arriving in Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
Despite stringent tarmac surveillance, the teens accessed the landing gear undetected—a lapse raising serious safety concerns.
Wheel-well stowaways face near-certain fatal conditions, including hypoxia, crushing mechanisms, and temperatures as low as -62°F (-52°C).
The FAA has documented 128 such cases since 1947, with a 75% fatality rate. Aviation experts stress that even survivors often suffer permanent physical damage due to extreme cold and oxygen deprivation.
Security experts noted that gaining access to the aircraft’s undercarriage represents a severe breach, especially considering the high-security protocols in place on airport tarmacs.
Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation, cited FAA data indicating that between 1947 and 2020, 128 global stowaway attempts were documented in wheel wells, with over 75% resulting in death due to extreme environmental conditions.
These include hypothermia, low oxygen levels, and trauma from landing gear movement.
Photo: JFK SpottingExtreme Dangers of Wheel-Well Stowaways
Hiding in an aircraft’s landing gear compartment is a deadly gamble. Aviation attorney and pilot John Gagliano explained that wheel wells, unpressurized and unheated, expose stowaways to extreme conditions.
At 30,000–38,000 feet, temperatures can plummet to -42°F or lower, even if it’s 50°F on the ground. The lack of oxygen and deafening engine noise further reduce survival odds.
Gagliano called it “one of the deadliest places to stow away,” emphasizing the futility of such attempts without specialized knowledge or aid.
Photo: By Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia – United Airlines, N17002, Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87492446Similar Incidents
The JetBlue incident echoes a December 2024 case involving a United Airlines (UA) flight from Chicago (ORD) to Maui (OGG), where a stowaway’s body was found in the wheel well. Fatalities typically stem from hypothermia or asphyxiation, with survival being an anomaly.
The Boeing 787-10 aircraft had just completed its scheduled route from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
United Airlines confirmed the incident, emphasizing that the wheel well compartment remains accessible only from outside the aircraft. The Maui Police Department and local law enforcement agencies launched immediate investigations into the security breach, with United Airlines pledging full cooperation to determine how the individual accessed the restricted area.
This tragedy mirrors a similar incident from December 5, 2022, when Sussex Metropolitan Police found an unidentified black male deceased in the wheel bay of TUI Airways Flight BY225 at London’s Gatwick Airport. That flight had departed from Banjul, Gambia, and the individual carried no identification, complicating efforts to establish his identity, nationality, age, or intended destination.
Stowaway incidents have increased recently, with several passengers attempting to travel without tickets on Delta Air Lines (DL) flights.
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