An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating as Flight AA923 was found with a perforation on its right wing’s aileron after arriving in Miami from Medellín, Colombia, on Monday. The possible bullet hole was discovered during a routine post-flight inspection at Miami International Airport. The aircraft had landed safely. No injuries or operational issues were reported during the flight. The flight crew did not note any abnormalities en route.
American Airlines confirmed the damage and 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,” according to CBS News. Ailerons are hinged control panels on the outer edges of each wing that help the aircraft roll or bank by creating uneven lift when they deflect in opposite directions. The aircraft had flown from Miami to Medellín and back the same day on a route that passes over the Caribbean Sea.
Maintenance teams performed temporary structural patching on the wing surface in Miami. The jet was then flown without passengers to the airline’s maintenance hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on a non-commercial repositioning flight, designated AA1813, for further assessment and detailed inspections. The aircraft remained grounded there on February 24 as engineers examined it. Engineers are inspecting for any potential secondary impacts to internal systems, including wiring or hydraulic lines. No injuries or operational issues were reported on board during the journey, and the airplane completed both sectors between Miami and Medellín without complications.
Authorities in Colombia have opened an investigation into the origin of the apparent gunfire. Officials are examining whether the damage could have occurred in the ground environment around Medellín or at low altitude during flight. Aeronautical authorities from Colombia and the United States are collaborating to determine how the impacts occurred. Colombian officials are assessing the possibility of criminal group involvement while emphasizing that no conclusions have been reached.
Colombia’s Civil Aeronautics Authority said it was aware of reports of an aircraft with perforations but had not been contacted by the airline or U.S. authorities. The flight path between Miami and Medellín crosses the Caribbean Sea, an area where the U.S. anti-drug trafficking Operation Lanza del Sur is underway.
The incident follows previous cases in 2024 in which Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines aircraft were struck by gunfire in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The United States temporarily prohibited all civilian flights to Haiti for one month after those cases. In a separate 2024 episode, a Southwest Airlines plane was hit by a bullet near the cockpit while preparing for departure from Dallas Love Field. No injuries were reported.