Workers inspecting a JetBlue plane at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday after it landed found two people dead in the landing gear compartment.

“The circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation. 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 to Miami CBS affiliate WFOR-TV.

JetBlue Flight 1801 took off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport at 8:20 p.m. Monday and landed at 11:03 p.m., according to tracking website FlightAware.

The two deceased haven’t been identified. Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Carey Codd told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG that the office is investigating the incident and that the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies on both people.

Both of the deceased were men, according to WPLG.

A 2011 study by the Federal Aviation Administration found that 80% of people who tried to fly in the wheel well, landing gear compartment or other part of the plane outside the cabin and cargo hold died in the attempt.

Causes of death can include being crushed by gear when it retracts into the airplane upon takeoff, from heat produced by the plane’s engines, from hypothermia at high altitudes and from a lack of oxygen at high altitudes.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.