World Courant
A Spirit Airways airplane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Haiti was diverted after it was struck by gunfire whereas attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian Nationwide Workplace of Civil Aviation (OFNAC) advised ABC Information.
The airplane was hit 4 occasions by gunfire because it tried to land at Touissant Louverture airport within the capital Port-au-Prince, OFNAC mentioned.
The Spirit Airways airplane “perished and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic,” Spirit Airways mentioned in a press release Monday, including that no passengers reported accidents and that one flight attendant on board the airplane suffered unspecified “minor accidents” reported and underwent medical analysis.
In accordance with information from FlightRadar24, the airplane got here inside 170 meters of the runway earlier than aborting the touchdown and diverting to the Dominican Republic.
After the airplane arrived within the Dominican Republic, “an inspection revealed proof of harm to the plane according to gunfire,” the Spirit Airways assertion mentioned. The airplane was taken out of service and one other plane was secured to return the passengers and crew to Fort Lauderdale, the assertion mentioned.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a press release that the Spirit Airways flight landed safely within the Dominican Republic “after the plane was reportedly broken by gunfire whereas making an attempt to land” on the Port-au-Prince airport .
File picture of the Spirit Airways airplane taking off from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport.
STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Inventory
Two different flights sure for Toussaint Louverture Airport have been additionally diverted “out of an abundance of warning,” the FAA mentioned in its assertion, including that the airport was now closed.
All airways have briefly suspended flights at Touissant Louverture Airport, OFNAC advised ABC Information.
A JetBlue flight from Haiti to New York Metropolis was additionally struck by a bullet on Monday, the airline mentioned in a press release to ABC Information.
After JetBlue Flight 935 from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, landed at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport, a post-flight inspection revealed that the outside of the airplane had been struck by a bullet.
JetBlue mentioned it’s suspending all flights to and from Haiti by December 2 as a result of civil unrest within the nation.
The U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued a safety alert saying it was “conscious of gang-led efforts to dam journey to and from Port-au-Prince, together with potential armed violence and disruptions to roads, ports and airports.”
“The safety state of affairs in Haiti is unpredictable and harmful,” the embassy warning message continued, additional noting that “the U.S. authorities can not assure your security when touring to airports, on the border, or throughout onward journey. You need to contemplate your private security state of affairs earlier than touring wherever. in Haiti.”
