Two people were found dead in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Monday night, the airline has reported.

According to a report from CNN, the airline on Tuesday said the bodies were discovered during a post-flight maintenance inspection after it operated as Flight 1801 from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York. The airline also stated that an investigation has been launched to ascertain the circumstances of how the now-deceased accessed the plane.

“The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death of both individuals,” Carey Codd, spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, is quoted saying.

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CNN further reported that the investigation has not hampered operations at the airport.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the landing gear compartment is often used by stowaways who don’t realise how little space is available in the bay when the gear is retracted. Stowaways who are not crushed often end up losing consciousness for lack of oxygen or freezing once the plane is at cruising altitude.

CNN, citing a 2011 FAA report, said about 80 per cent of people who attempt to fly in the wheel well or another external compartment of an aircraft die.

It is believed that the deceased are Jamaicans, though their identities have not been confirmed.