A bullet struck near the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines plane carrying passengers as it was scheduled to depart from Dallas Love Field Airport on Friday, the airline said in a statement.
Southwest Airlines Flight 2494 crashed into the “right side of the aircraft directly below the flight deck as the crew was preparing to depart for Indianapolis,” a Southwest Airlines spokesperson said.
Dallas Police Department confirmed the incident and responded. No injuries were reported. The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). statement. An airline spokesperson said the passengers were deplaned and transferred to another flight.
Runway 13R/31L was temporarily closed but has since reopened, Dallas Love Field Airport said X added that the shooting had a “minimal” impact on airport operations.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, has been removed from service. The investigation is ongoing and led by the Dallas Police Department. It is currently unclear what the source of the gunfire was or how many passengers were on board at the time of the incident.
The Texas incident comes days after JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and American Airlines grounded flights to Haiti after two Haitian planes were struck by bullets amid escalating gang violence in the country.
A JetBlue flight from Port-au-Prince was hit by bullets. It landed safely in New York City on Monday. A Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was also affected Monday. The plane turned around and landed in Santiago, Dominican Republic, leaving a flight attendant with “minor injuries.”
