American Airlines pulled a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from service this week after maintenance workers found puncture damage on the aircraft that appeared consistent with a bullet strike following a round-trip flight between Miami and Medellín, Colombia, officials and media reports said Tuesday.
The finding is drawing attention because the damage was located on a right-wing aileron, a flight control surface that helps an aircraft roll and turn. No injuries were reported, and airline officials said the flight crew did not report any in-flight problems. Still, the discovery triggered inspections, paperwork reviews and an investigation split between U.S. and Colombian authorities as they try to determine when the aircraft was struck and where the gunfire could have come from.
The aircraft flew from Miami to José María Córdova International Airport near Medellín on Sunday evening as American Airlines Flight 923, according to statements and reports based on internal documents and flight-tracking data. After arriving in Colombia, ground personnel reported a puncture that appeared to extend through the right-hand aileron, according to documents reviewed by U.S. media. The jet remained overnight. It then departed Colombia and returned to Miami on Monday morning as Flight 924, with no flight-related issues reported on either segment, American said in a statement provided to news organizations.
When the plane arrived back at Miami International Airport, the damage came into sharper focus. WSVN-TV reported that the jet landed at about 10:24 a.m. Monday and that the puncture marks were noticed after passengers had deplaned. Fox Business reported the return arrival was at about 10:33 a.m., also describing routine inspection work that led to the discovery. In both accounts, the damage was described as puncture marks on the right aileron, the movable surface on the trailing edge of the wing that helps control roll and balance.
American said it found a puncture to the exterior of the aircraft during a routine inspection and removed the plane from service for further review. “The aircraft was immediately removed from service for further inspection and repair,” the airline said in a statement carried by multiple outlets. The company said it would work with relevant authorities as the incident is investigated. American also said the puncture did not cause problems during flight and that there were no injuries.
What investigators are trying to establish now is the basic timeline: whether the aircraft was struck while on the ground, while taxiing, during takeoff, during approach, or after landing. Colombian officials told ABC News that a preliminary investigation indicated the flight was struck while landing in Medellín on Sunday, but that the inquiry was still in an early stage. Colombian authorities were also looking at the possibility that a criminal group may be involved, ABC reported, while noting that nothing had been confirmed publicly.
The aircraft’s identity and movements have become part of the public record of the case. Fox Business identified the plane as registered as N342SX. ABC News reported that the aircraft later traveled from Miami to Dallas on Monday evening, citing flight-tracking data, and said it was sent to Dallas-Fort Worth for repairs. WSVN reported the airline did not say whether the damage was sustained on the ground in Medellín or during flight, and said authorities had not publicly identified suspects or confirmed the origin of the gunfire.
While aileron damage sounds alarming to many travelers, aviation experts say modern airliners are designed with layered redundancies and strict maintenance rules that control when an aircraft can fly and under what conditions. Ailerons are key control surfaces, but their systems are built to withstand failures and keep the aircraft controllable within certified limits. That said, any unexplained puncture to a control surface is treated seriously because investigators must rule out broader damage, determine if other structures were affected, and confirm that the aircraft meets airworthiness requirements before it returns to passenger service.
In this case, U.S. media described the damage as having characteristics consistent with an apparent bullet strike: a small, round entry hole on one side and additional damage on the likely exit side. CBS News reported that the puncture extended all the way through the right-hand aileron and that sources familiar with the matter said the damage was consistent with a bullet strike. ABC News and other outlets also referred to “bullet holes” in reporting, while emphasizing that investigators are still working to confirm exactly what caused the puncture.
For American, the incident adds another unusual safety and security story to the airline’s operation in the region. The Miami-Medellín route is a busy international market, and Miami International Airport is one of the airline’s major gateways for Latin America. The Medellín area airport serves both domestic connections and international flights, and its location in the mountains can mean aircraft spend time on approach paths that pass over dense neighborhoods and steep terrain. Investigators have not said whether the aircraft’s flight path, the airport perimeter, or an area beyond airport property could be connected to the damage.
The reporting also revived memories of other recent incidents involving gunfire near aircraft in parts of the Caribbean. CBS News noted that in 2024, multiple U.S. airlines had planes struck by gunfire while taking off or landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, amid surging gang violence, and that the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted traffic there as carriers suspended service. There is no public evidence so far that the circumstances in Colombia match those cases, but investigators commonly review prior events to understand how and where aircraft can be exposed to gunfire near airports.
Officials have been careful about what they can say publicly. WSVN reported that American did not specify where the damage occurred. CBS News reported that Colombia’s civil aviation authority said it did not have information at first but was investigating after being contacted. ABC News reported Colombian authorities were investigating and that officials were looking at a possible criminal group, while cautioning that conclusions had not been reached. No law enforcement agency has publicly announced arrests, and no one has publicly claimed responsibility for a shooting connected to the aircraft.
On the operational side, the airline’s immediate steps were clear: remove the plane from normal service, inspect it, and move it to a facility equipped for deeper work. Some reporting described temporary patching to stabilize the area. Fox Business reported the aircraft later flew as a non-commercial flight to American’s main maintenance hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a move that suggests the airline intended to place the jet in a controlled maintenance environment rather than keep it in its regular route rotation.
That repositioning flight has also fueled questions about how the plane could be flown at all if the damage was significant. In aviation practice, a carrier can sometimes fly an aircraft under specific limitations once qualified technicians evaluate the condition and certify it is safe for a ferry flight. Such moves are governed by maintenance procedures and regulatory requirements. American has not publicly described the specific approvals for the repositioning, but its statement that the puncture did not cause any flight issues is consistent with reports that the jet operated normally during its scheduled segments.
At Miami, the incident quickly became a talking point among airline employees and travelers. The idea that an aircraft could cross the Caribbean and land safely, only for workers to notice a hole later, raised questions about how visible the damage was and when it was first detected. Reports differed on exactly when the puncture was first noticed—some said it was detected during routine inspection on return to Miami, while CBS News said the hole was found while the aircraft was in Colombia after the Miami-to-Medellín flight. Those differences matter to investigators because they shape where authorities focus their early evidence collection and interviews.
Colombian authorities are expected to look at security camera footage, airfield access logs, perimeter reports and any police calls tied to gunfire around the time Flight 923 arrived. Investigators may also review whether any gunfire reports were made in neighborhoods near approach corridors. On the U.S. side, aviation safety and security officials can review maintenance documentation, inspect the aircraft’s affected structure, and collect data about the flight’s route, altitude and timing, although no agency has publicly detailed what steps are underway in this case.
For now, the known facts remain narrow but significant: a 737 MAX 8 operated a round trip between Miami and Medellín, no injuries were reported, the flight crew did not report in-flight issues, and maintenance personnel found puncture damage in or through the right aileron that appeared consistent with gunfire. American removed the aircraft from service and said it is working with authorities. Colombian officials said they are investigating and suggested the damage may have occurred during a landing, but said conclusions are not final.
As of Tuesday night, investigators had not publicly said whether the puncture was definitively a bullet hole, what caliber might be involved, or whether the projectile was recovered. Authorities also had not said whether they believe the aircraft was intentionally targeted or struck by stray gunfire. The next milestones are expected to be a more detailed statement from Colombian aviation or police officials and an engineering assessment by American’s maintenance teams that determines what repairs are needed before the aircraft can return to passenger service.
Author note: Last updated February 24, 2026.