While planes being hit by gunfire are normally an extremely rare occurrence, the past week has seen a number of these incidents.
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned U.S.-based airlines from flying to Haiti after Spirit (SAVE) and JetBlue (JBLU) aircraft were hit by gunfire while attempting to land at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Nov. 11.
But while the Caribbean nation has been dealing with a breakout of gang violence related to the assassination of one prime minister and ousting of another, another incident of someone firing at a plane took place a few days later in the U.S.
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Related: Spirit, JetBlue and American cancel Haiti flights after planes hit by gunfire
Southwest plane struck by gunfire near cockpit: police
A Southwest Airlines (LUV) plane was preparing to take off from Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) for Indianapolis when some crew members and passengers aboard the plane heard a pop on the outside of the aircraft.
The smaller airport closer to downtown Dallas is more often used by low-cost airlines for short domestic routes.
The FAA and law enforcement authorities later released a report saying that the Boeing 737-800 (BA) plane was “struck by gunfire near the cockpit” at around 9 p.m. CST Nov. 15. The bullet did not penetrate the interior of the plane or cause any injuries to anyone inside.
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The plane then pulled back to the gate and the 99 passengers exited back to the airport. Southwest issued a statement saying that it directed all the passengers to alternative flights and the plane was taken out of service for investigation and repairs.
As the police are still looking for the person who fired the bullet, both airport and law enforcement authorities have released only minimal details around what occurred.
“On Friday night, Dallas police responded to a security incident involving a commercial aircraft,” Dallas Love Field Airport said in a statement. “Runway 13R/31L was briefly closed but has since reopened.”
A Southwest spokesperson said “a bullet apparently struck the right side of the aircraft under the flight deck” and confirmed that no injuries have been reported.
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Spirit and JetBlue incidents involving gunfire
The Spirit plane was hit by gunfire as it was flying in to Haiti from Florida on Nov. 11. A flight attendant suffered minor injuries. The plane diverted to an airport in the Dominican Republic even though it had been just 550 feet above the runway in Port-au-Prince.
In the JetBlue incident bullets grazed the outside of the plane and crew workers discovered evidence of the shots only after the plane had landed.
Given the two incidents, the FAA issued an emergency 30-day ban on flying into Haiti due to the country’s highly unstable political situation (reportedly, gang members were firing at planes to prevent foreigners from coming in during the ascension of new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé).
By then, Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines (AAL) , which also ran some limited flights to Haiti from the U.S., had already canceled their flights there.
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