Spirit Airlines flight from Florida to Haiti hit by gunfire while trying to land, diverts to Dominican Republic
A Aviation A plane from Florida was hit by gunfire while trying to land HaitiThe capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday diverted to the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The flight attendant received minor injuries during the incident.
Two other flights bound for Port-au-Prince at Toussaint Louverture International Airport were diverted as a precaution, the FAA said in a statement.
Spirit Airlines Flight 951 took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, north of Miami, on Monday morning, bound for Port-au-Prince.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, the plane flew through parts of Haiti and around Port-au-Prince before diverting to Cibao International Airport in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
The plane landed safely, according to Spirit. In Santiago, the plane was inspected and found to have gunshot damage, the airline said.
The flight attendants’ union, the Association of Flight Attendants, confirmed to CBS News that a flight attendant suffered minor injuries from the debris during the incident. No passenger injuries were reported, according to Spirit.
After the incident, Spirit and other airlines suspended operations in Haiti.
Spirit said its service to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in northern Haiti has been suspended “pending further inspection.”
American Airlines said it would suspend flights between Miami and Port-au-Prince until Thursday. “We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security and will adjust our operations as needed,” the airline said in a statement.
JetBlue has canceled its flights to and from Haiti until Thursday. “We will continue to monitor the situation to determine if additional cancellations may be necessary,” the carrier said in a statement.
and Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.
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