Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of former Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been arrested during a military operation in northwestern Mexico. The arrest happened in Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa. As a response, angry gang members set fire on buses and trucks. One aircraft, an Aeromexico Connect Embraer E190LR (registered XA-ALW), that was about to leave Culiacán Airport for flight AM165 to Mexico City got hit by at least one bullet.
Images that appear on social media indicate that the aircraft was already taxiing when the aircraft was hit. Damage to the aircraft was noticed, as seen on pictures that appeared on social media (see below). Passengers and crew members had to duck for cover, but the airline confirmed that everybody remained safe.
On the incident, Aeromexico said: “This morning a bullet impact was detected in the fuselage of a aircraft that was ready to operate flight AM165 on the Culiacán – Mexico City route, which was canceled for security reasons.
The plane never started its takeoff run. After this incident, the company’s protocols were activated and the authorities were notified. Clients and collaborators are safe.
Aeromexico reiterates that the safety of customers and collaborators is and will continue to be its highest priority.”
Culiacán Airport has been closed until further notice.
Update 6 January:
Next to the damaged aircraft carrier, a Fuerza Aerea Mexicana Boeing 737-800 (registered 3526 and built in 2015) was targeted and damaged by criminal cartel members at the same airport. No information about any injured persons as of yet.