Spirit Airlines flight from Florida to Haiti hit by gunfire while trying to land, diverts to Dominican Republic

A photo provided by the Dominican Republic’s Cibao International Airport shows what looks like a bullet hole in the fuselage of Spirit Airlines Flight 951.

Handout from Cibao International Airport

The flight landed safely, according to Spirit. The airport said 48 passengers were on the flight. In Santiago, the aircraft was inspected, and damage consistent with gunfire was found, the airline said.

A flight attendants union, the Association of Flight Attendants, confirmed to CBS News that a flight attendant on the plane sustained minor injuries from debris during the incident. No passenger injuries were reported, according to Spirit.

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince said in a security alert Monday it was aware of “gang-led efforts” to block travel to and from the capital that may include “armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”

“The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous,” the embassy said. “Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk. The U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti.”

Sumwalt said it’s important for carriers to understand incidents like Monday’s can happen at some of their destinations.

“Airlines really need to make sure that they understand that these sorts of things can happen in some of these countries where we have political unrest, where we have violence,” Sumwalt said.

Spirit said the plane involved in Monday’s incident was taken out of service. The airline was making arrangements for a different plane to take the passengers and crew back to Fort Lauderdale on Monday.

Following the incident, Spirit and other airlines suspended service to Haiti.

Spirit said its service at Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in northern Haiti was suspended “pending further evaluation.”

JetBlue said Monday night it discovered one of its planes had also been hit by gunfire. 

“JetBlue flight 634 from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, landed safely at New York’s JFK Airport. While no issues were initially reported by the operating crew, a post-flight inspection later identified that the aircraft’s exterior had been struck by a bullet.”

JetBlue canceled its flights to and from Haiti through Dec. 2. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and update our plans as necessary,” the carrier said in a statement.  

American Airlines said it was suspending flights between Miami and Port-au-Prince through Thursday. “We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed,” the airline said in a statement.

Kathryn Krupnik and

Kris Van Cleave

contributed to this report.

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Alex Sundby

Alex Sundby is a senior editor at CBSNews.com. In addition to editing content, Alex also covers breaking news, writing about crime and severe weather as well as everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth hot dog eating contest.

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Publish date : 2024-11-12 03:42:00

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