An American man was killed after having diverted a small passenger plane and injured two passengers in the Belize Caribbean Nation.
Fourteen passengers were aboard the plane when the air pirate, identified as Akinyela Sawa Taylor, took control of the flight to the handle. Two passengers were injured, including one who was stabbed in the back.
Taylor ordered the pilot to get him out of the country, but was then shot in the chest by another passenger, said Belize police commissioner Chester Williams told local journalists.
After having waged in an erratic way on the coast near the country’s capital, Belize City, with exhausting fuel, the passenger test ended when the plane landed safely at Philip Goldson International Airport.
Taylor was declared dead in a local hospital, and one of the injured passengers was in critical condition after being stabbed on the back.
The details of the incident remained sparse, but Williams said that the passengers had just escaped a more serious tragedy while the plane was missing from fuel when he landed.
The plane was on the road from Corozal to San Pedro when the diversion took place. After being contacted by passengers on board, the police were deployed in various airports, without knowing where the plane would land. A rescue helicopter also followed the plane.
“We hoped that we would not have to go from a research and resistance operation to a research and recovery operation. The helicopter had to follow the plane to see where he would land. So, if they had decided to crash on the plane at sea, or on one of the islands, we would have quickly been to respond and provide assistance to passengers who may not survive, “he told journalists.
The motivations of the air pirate are not clear, but Williams said that Taylor had already been refused the entrance to Belize, and he was not clear how he could have crossed his borders.
Williams said there would be an examination of the security procedures for domestic flights.
A spokesperson for the United States Embassy told journalists he worked with Belize to investigate the incident. “We share this commitment with them to ensure that Belize is sure, the airlines are safe, tourists who come here are safe, the borders are safe,” he said.
