Spirit Airlines and JetBlue planes hit by gunfire in Haiti

A Spirit Airlines plane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Haiti was diverted after it was struck by gunfire while trying to land in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC) told ABC News.

The plane was hit four times by gunfire as it tried to land at Touissant Louverture airport in the capital Port-au-Prince, OFNAC said.

The Spirit Airlines plane “perished and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement Monday, adding that no passengers reported injuries and that one flight attendant on board the plane suffered unspecified “minor injuries” reported and underwent medical evaluation.

According to data from FlightRadar24, the plane came within 170 meters of the runway before aborting the landing and diverting to the Dominican Republic.

After the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic, “an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire,” the Spirit Airlines statement said. The plane was taken out of service and another aircraft was secured to return the passengers and crew to Fort Lauderdale, the statement said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a statement that the Spirit Airlines flight landed safely in the Dominican Republic “after the aircraft was reportedly damaged by gunfire while attempting to land” at the Port-au-Prince airport .

Two other flights bound for Toussaint Louverture Airport were also diverted “out of an abundance of caution,” the FAA said in its statement, adding that the airport was now closed.

All airlines have temporarily suspended flights at Touissant Louverture Airport, OFNAC told ABC News.

A JetBlue flight from Haiti to New York City was also struck by a bullet on Monday, the airline said in a statement to ABC News.

After JetBlue Flight 935 from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a post-flight inspection revealed that the exterior of the plane had been struck by a bullet.

JetBlue said it is suspending all flights to and from Haiti through December 2 due to civil unrest in the country.

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert saying it was “aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince, including possible armed violence and disruptions to roads, ports and airports.”

“The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous,” the embassy warning message continued, further noting that “the U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety when traveling to airports, at the border, or during onward travel. You should consider your personal safety situation before traveling anywhere. in Haiti.”