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An American Airlines jet was found Monday with possible bullet holes on its exterior after completing a flight from Medellin, Colombia, to Miami.
The damage was discovered during a routine post‑flight inspection of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Miami International Airport.
According to Airlive.net, the puncture marks resembled bullet holes and were found on the plane’s right wing assembly.
American Airlines confirmed to FOX Business that the plane was impacted and is currently undergoing inspection.
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An American Airlines plane taxis to a gate on Jan. 11, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Following a routine inspection, our teams identified a puncture to the exterior of one of our aircraft in Medellín, Colombia,” the airline said.
“The aircraft was immediately removed from service for further inspection and repair. We will work closely with all relevant authorities to investigate this incident.”
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Aerial view of the Moravia hill and neighborhood in Medellin, Colombia, on June 18, 2021. (JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The plane, registered as N342SX, first departed Miami Sunday as Flight AA923 for Medellín’s José María Córdova International Airport, where it stayed overnight in Colombia, according to AirNavRadar.
The next morning, it completed its return leg as Flight AA924, landing in Miami at approximately 10:33 a.m.
The flight cruised without any issues during its three-hour journey over the Caribbean, and no one was reported injured, the airline told FOX Business.
During the inspection, maintenance crews noticed puncture marks on the right aileron, the part of the wing that controls roll and allows the airplane to turn, Airlive.net reported.
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While the cause of the possible gunfire remains under investigation, the incident has raised concerns about safety in Medellín. The city, now a popular and vibrant destination for tourists, was once notorious in the 1990s for high levels of violence and drug-related crime.
Following the discovery, flight technicians at the Miami airport conducted temporary structural patching to stabilize the wing, Airlive.net said.
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American Airlines planes are seen at Miami International Airport on May 9, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
At 8 p.m., roughly 10 hours after landing in Miami, the plane departed again as a non-commercial flight to American Airlines’ primary maintenance hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
The aircraft currently remains grounded at DFW, where specialized engineers are able to assess the jet and determine whether any additional mechanisms were impacted.
