Broward County

Who were 2 teen stowaways found dead under a JetBlue plane at a Broward airport?

JetBlue planes wait at the gate at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2020.
JetBlue planes wait at the gate at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2020. Mark Konezny-USA TODAY NETWORK

Months after two people were found dead in the landing gear of a plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, officials on Thursday released the names of the deceased through the help of “extensive DNA testing.”

Jeik Aniluz Lusi, 18, and Elvis Borques Castillo, 16, from the Dominican Republic, were identified as the stowaways discovered in a JetBlue plane’s landing gear January 6, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

READ MORE: Two found dead in plane at Fort Lauderdale airport may be from Dominican Republic: BSO

Their bodies were found during a routine post-flight maintenance inspection. The plane flew in from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The same aircraft had previously flown to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic the day before Lusi and Castillo were found.

How or why the pair were in the plane’s undercarriage remains unclear.

This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 5:24 PM.

Devoun Cetoute
Miami Herald
Miami Herald Cops and Breaking News Reporter Devoun Cetoute covers a plethora of Florida topics, from breaking news to crime patterns. He was on the breaking news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He’s a graduate of the University of Florida, born and raised in Miami-Dade. Theme parks, movies and cars are on his mind in and out of the office.
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