US airline plane shot down over Haiti, flight attendant injured

Jakarta –

One jet plane Spirit Airlines heading towards the capital HaitiPort-au-Prince, hit by a shotgun. The United States (SA) airline said a flight attendant was slightly injured as a result of the incident.

As reported AFPOn Tuesday (12/11/2024), Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince diverted and landed safely in the nearby Dominican Republic, Spirit said in a statement. A ground investigation revealed damage to the plane “consistent with gunfire,” he said.

“No passengers were injured,” the low-cost carrier said, adding that its services to Haiti were suspended pending further assessment.

The Haitian capital is known to be largely controlled by powerful and well-armed gangs. The damaged plane was temporarily grounded and Spirit arranged for passengers to be returned to Fort Lauderdale on Monday (11/18).

The airport in Port-au-Prince has suspended commercial flights, the Miami Herald reported. American Airlines also announced that it would suspend its flight service between Miami and the Haitian capital until Thursday (14/11).

The shooting incident comes as the country prepares to install a new prime minister amid a new power struggle that threatens to plunge the impoverished, crisis-ridden country into new chaos.

Haiti’s transitional council has replaced Prime Minister Garry Conille, according to an official newspaper release seen AFP on Sunday (10/11).

The nine-member board’s decision, due to be published on Monday, November 11, seeks to remove Conille after just five months in office and businessman Alix Didier Fils- Aim to replace it.

The council is a new organization that is not included in the constitution and was not approved by the parliament because Haiti does not have a sitting legislature.

The country has not held general elections since 2016, widening a political vacuum that has exacerbated security and health crises.

(rfs/rfs)