An American Airlines plane was found with an apparent bullet hole while in Colombia on Monday, according to sources familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by CBS News.
The hole was located in the right wing of a 737 MAX 8 aircraft after it flew from Miami, Florida, to Medellín on Sunday evening as flight 923. After landing, the ground crew reported a puncture "that extends all the way through the right-hand aileron," documents reviewed by CBS News said. It's unclear when or where the damage occurred.
Sources say the damage is consistent with an apparent bullet strike. There is an entry point that left a small round hole in one side of the aileron as well as damage at the likely exit point on the other side. The apparent bullet hole was first reported by airline blogger JonNYC on X.
An aircraft's ailerons are important flight control surfaces located on the trailing edge of each wing. They generate the aircraft's roll.
There were no injuries and the plane experienced no flight-related issues, according to American Airlines.
"Following a routine inspection, our teams identified a puncture to the exterior of one of our aircraft in Medellín, Colombia," American Airlines said in a statement to CBS News. "The aircraft was immediately removed from service for further inspection and repair. We will work closely with all relevant authorities to investigate this incident."
Temporary repairs were made and the plane operated as scheduled to Miami on Monday morning, according to flight tracking data from Flightradar24. It then remained in Florida for approximately 12 hours before flying to Dallas and has not flown since.
The Civil Aviation Authority — the Colombian equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration — told CBS News it had no information about the incident but was now investigating.
In 2024, Spirit, JetBlue and American had planes struck by gunfire while taking off or landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as gang violence surged in the capital city. The FAA temporarily halted air traffic to Toussaint Louverture International Airport and major airlines suspended service.
José Diaz contributed to this report.
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