Bullets Pierce Spirit Airlines Flight Over Haiti – Flight Attendant Wounded And Overhead Bins Shot Up

by Gary Leff

Back in May I outlined new security procedures as American Airlines restarted service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti following planes being hit by bullets at the airport as violent gangs under the direction of Jimmy Chérizier (“Barbecue”) attacked.

Airline crew travel the world, including to some unstable places. They face personal risks as they travel between airports and their hotels, like the American Airlines crew that was robbed at gunpoint before a San José, Costa Rica to Miami flight. And that’s a destination generally considered relatively safe.

Now, though, a Spirit Airlines plane was hit by bullets while flying over Port-au-Prince. They landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic, however a flight attendant was reportedly grazed by a bullet. Video from crew inside the aircraft show bullet holes.

Aviation watchdog JonNYC reports,

Most majors suspending for a few days “These guys took gunfire this morning about 10 miles out and diverted to the DR. AA and B6 suspending service”

Haiti’s problems are often blamed on French colonialism and reparations taken by France after the country’s independence. But those were expunged in 1947. What’s striking is the economic divergence of Haiti and the Dominican Republic starting in the 1960s. The two countries started the period with a similar standard of living. The D.R.’s has grown eight-fold, while Haiti’s has not improved in 70 years. That’s suggestive, at least, that Haiti’s problems are home-grown including massive corruption. Disney used to manufacture there! It was largely replaced by the drug trade.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Same with Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Not exactly the same but both French places that had a choice, and well, one worked and one didn’t.

  3. How about Singapore versus Malaysia, Taiwan Republic of China versus People’s Republic of China, USA versus Canada (income is significantly higher and prices lower in the US), South Korea versus North Korea, Palau versus Nauru.

  4. Gary do your homework. They were not expunged. It was paid off in 1947. It was blackmail by the U.S. and France for the Lost of the French Colony and Slave Property in their words. Citibank bank rolled the Debt. This is not an excuse as to why they are not a developed country but definitely played a role. As a professor you fail to do any research or inform yourself with facts. I know this blog is for entertainment as you say. At least post fact checked history as a professor we should at least expect that from you.

  7. Imagine your luxurious Stefano Ricci crocodile leather four-wheel suitcase, typically priced at $48,700.00, is currently on sale at Saks Fifth Avenue for just $19,480.00. Unfortunately, while flying over the Republic of Haiti on Spirit Airlines, your Stefano Ricci carry-on suitcase got damaged by a bullet after bouncing off a flight attendant while stored in the luggage bin above your seat. Suppose you purchased extra passenger baggage insurance coverage. Will Spirit Airlines reimburse you for the damage, or does Spirit Airlines consider bullet holes when flying over Haiti airspace normal wear and tear during transport? Alternatively, should passengers consider packing using their more affordable Tumi suitcase when traveling to Haiti?

  9. @Historybuff – typing as I was landing into Charlotte, I used a word imprecisely. I meant to say “extinguished” not “expunged.”

    That said, to be totally correct, Haiti did finish paying off debt to France in 1947, but 40% of the original amount had been forgiven 109 years earlier IIRC. The debt was reduced from 150m to 90m Francs.

    The point though was simply that 77 years has passed since the French debt was an issue, Haiti prospered after that, so it’s not the colonial past that primarily drives today’s outcomes there.

  10. Thing 1 – Vanuatu went the Haiti route and rejected French investment and generally didn’t develop well while New Caledonia embraced the French and grew and prospered.

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