DALLAS — A Tropic Air (9N) Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX aircraft, registered as V3-HIG, was hijacked by a knife-wielding man in Belize on Thursday. Details about the motive and further circumstances are still under investigation. 

According to an a Belize Airport (BZE) release, Authorities at the P.G.I.A. were alerted around 8:30 am local time to a hijacking of the 9N flight from Corozal to San Pedro with 14 passengers and two crew.

The airport declared a full emergency, followed by an immediate response from emergency agencies. “The aircraft circled in random directions until finally landing safely at the P.G.I.A. at approximately 10:12 am… The aircraft came to a stop on the runway, and all passengers on board were accounted for by emergency personnel, with various injuries reported,” the latter corroborated via video from inside the cabin sent to Airways.

Tropic Air, founded in 1979, is the largest airline in Belize, operating over 200 flights daily to destinations in Belize, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. The Belizean airline's fleet includes 15 Cessna Grand Caravan C208B aircraft and two Cessna T182T aircraft.

Recent Aircraft Hijacking in Belize

In a separate event on October 16, 2023, a Cessna 208 Caravan operated by Maya Island Air (2M) was stolen from Placencia Airport (PLJ) in southern Belize. Four armed men overpowered a security guard at the airstrip, tied him up, and two of them took off in the aircraft. 

Shortly after takeoff, the plane clipped a lamppost and crashed into nearby bushes, bursting into flames and killing both occupants. Authorities suspect the incident was linked to narco-trafficking activities.

The 9N hijacker is deceased, according to BZE. The airport will release additional information as soon as more details are confirmed.

This is a developing story.

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