Southwest Airlines: Boeing passenger plane hit by gunfire near cockpit as it prepared to take off from Dallas Love Field Airport

A bullet struck the right side of a Southwest Airlines jet just under the flight deck around 8.30pm local time on Friday (2.30am on Saturday 16 November UK time). The plane was hit as it was preparing to take off from Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas.

Flight 2494 was cancelled with the aircraft removed from service. Passengers safely left the commercial plane as it was returned to the gate with another flight planned for them.

No injuries were reported in the incident involving a Boeing 737-800 aircraft which suffered some damage as it was taxiing. The jet was preparing to fly to Indianapolis International Airport when the gunfire happened.

In a social media post, Dallas Love Field Airport said the city's police department responded and runway 13R/31L was closed, but reopened later on Friday night with "minimal impact" on the facility's operations. According to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson, the "bullet apparently struck the right side of the aircraft just under the flight deck".

The plane scare happened just days after two commercial aircraft were hit by gunfire over the capital of Haiti. A Spirit Airlines flight was just metres from landing in Port-au-Prince having come from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, when gangs shot at the plane.

The bullets injured a flight attendant. Footage on social media, which is believed to have been filmed by an airline employee, appeared to show the hole where a bullet had entered the aircraft near the back door and struck overhead lockers. The plane was diverted and landed in the Dominican Republic and all flights in and out of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport were halted, the US embassy in Haiti said.