The Tripoc Air plane transported 14 passengers and two crew members. He took off from Corozal, a small town close to the border between Belize and Mexico, bound for San Pedro, popular with tourists, when he was diverted.
The aircraft carried out random rotations in the sky for almost two hours while the incident took place. He was followed by a police helicopter before landing at Ladyville coastal city airport.
The Belize authorities declared the state of emergency immediately after the start of the diversion, around 8:30 a.m., according to a statement from the Belize Airport Concession Company.
“Faced with incomprehensible pressure, our pilot acted with extraordinary courage and calm, guiding the plane to a safe landing. A simply heroic act, ”said Maximillian Greif, director of the airline.
The two passengers and the injured pilot received hospital care, authorities said.
The spokesperson for the American State Department, Tammy Bruce, said at a press briefing in Washington that the authorities still collected information on the events.
“We are happy, and I think that everyone is, that the incident has not caused massive losses, with, I believe, more than a dozen people on board. We clearly know some details. We don’t know much more. ”
Chester Williams, a Belize police commissioner, identified the air pirate as Akinyela Taylor and said he was a veteran of the American army. US authorities have not confirmed the declaration of the Belize police commissioner that Taylor was an army veteran. One of the stabbed passengers managed to shoot Taylor, who was killed, reported Mr. Williams, adding that the passenger holds a weapon port permit and then put his weapon to the police. The passenger was stabbed in the back and his lungs were perforated, said Williams. He was still in critical condition.
An official of Tripoc Air, who required anonymity not being authorized to speak to journalists, identified the injured crew member as being Howell Grange. The two injured passengers, including the one who shot the kidnapper, would be Fitzgerald Brown and Jair Castañeda. Their nationalities were not immediately known.
Mr. Williams said Taylor demanded to be evacuated from the country, perhaps to Mexico, and that at one point, he wanted the plane to get full of fuel.
Luke Martin, spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Belize, said Taylor had also insisted on being taken to the United States.
“We do not know why he wanted to return to the United States,” said Martin.
US officials have declared ignoring the reasons for Taylor’s diversion, but they work with the Bélizian authorities to determine what had happened.
