A U.S. national was shot and killed during a mid-air hijacking attempt aboard a small passenger plane in Belize on Thursday, ending a dramatic standoff that left two other passengers injured and grounded flights at the country's international airport. The incident marked the first plane hijacking of its kind in Belize in recent memory and has prompted renewed scrutiny of security measures on domestic flights.
Belize Police Commissioner Chester Williams identified the hijacker as Akinyela Sawa Taylor, a U.S. citizen who allegedly commandeered the Tropic Air flight at knifepoint after it departed from Corozal en route to San Pedro. Taylor, who was reportedly a former U.S. military service member, demanded the plane be diverted out of the country and at one point requested the pilot to land for refueling.
Fourteen passengers and two crew members were on board when the hijacking unfolded. According to police, Taylor stabbed at least one passenger-identified as Fitzgerald Brown-in the back and inflicted visible injuries on another, Jair Castañeda. A third passenger, identified by an airline official as Tropic Air employee Howell Grange, returned fire and fatally shot Taylor in the chest during the confrontation.
The aircraft circled erratically over Belize City as fuel levels dropped, triggering concerns that it might crash. "We were hoping that we don't have to move from a search-and-rescue operation to a search-and-recovery operation," Williams said, noting that a rescue helicopter had been dispatched to track the flight's trajectory.
The plane ultimately landed at Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport, where passengers were met by authorities. Taylor was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after the landing. One of the injured passengers remains in critical condition.
Authorities say Taylor had previously been denied entry into Belize, though it remains unclear how he was able to enter the country and board the domestic flight. "We don't know why he wanted to go back to the United States," said Luke Martin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Belize.
Commissioner Williams called the pilot's performance "exceptional" and praised the passenger who intervened. "He remained calm, and he was extremely focused in terms of what he was going to do," Williams said.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce described the incident as "horrifying," adding, "We are grateful, I think all of us are, that that did not turn into a mass casualty event with I believe over a dozen people on the plane."
