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For once, a near-disaster on a Spirit Airlines flight wasn’t self-inflicted by the company when a flight traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Florida had to be diverted on Monday after it was hit by gunfire while trying to land. Thankfully, no passengers were reported to have been injured.
Spirit Airlines Flight 951 was attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, Haiti when it was forced to change course and instead touched down at Santiago Airport in the Dominican Republic. Data on FlightRadar24 reveals that the plane came within 550 feet of the runway before aborting its landing.
This is the second time in three weeks that aircraft have been shot at over the capital of Haiti, the BBC reports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the latest report, adding that two other flights scheduled to land at the airport were also diverted “as a precaution.”
Spirit Airlines said that the damage to the plane was “consistent with gunfire” and the aircraft was taken out of commission. Unverified video appears to confirm there were bullet holes on the inside of the plane.
🚨#BREAKING: A Spirit Airlines flight has been forced to abort a landing at Port-au-Prince airport after being struck by gunfire
📌#Haiti | #Caribbean
Earlier this afternoon, Spirit Airlines flight N966NK was struck by several rounds of gunfire while attempting to land in… pic.twitter.com/5oiDPe3KYP
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) November 11, 2024
“Spirit Airlines flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Port-au-Prince (PAP) diverted and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI),” the airline said in a statement. “Following the flight’s arrival at STI, an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire.
“One Flight Attendant on board reported minor injuries and is being evaluated by medical personnel. No Guest injuries were reported. The plane has been taken out of service, and we are arranging for a different aircraft to return our Guests and crew to FLL today. The safety of our Guests and Team Members is our top priority, and we have suspended our service at Port-au-Prince (PAP) and Cap-Haitien (CAP) pending further evaluation.”
Also on Monday, it was reported that Haiti’s Touissant Louverture Airport was temporarily shut down due to gangs attempting to seize control of the facility. Spirit, American Airlines and JetBlue all reported that they had halted service to Haiti until at least Thursday.