Stray bullet hits MEA plane landing in Beirut with MP on board
A stray bullet hit a Middle East Airlines jet while landing in Beirut on Thursday, causing some material damage. No one among the passengers or crew was hurt, the head of the Lebanese airline company said.
The jet was landing on its way back from Jordan when the bullet hit the plane, said Mohamad El-Hout. He told reporters that Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport often faces such incidents, in addition to birds that fly in the area, endangering aviation.
The bullet hit the roof of the jet and lodged inside the plane, airport officials said.
Legislator Paula Yacoubian was apparently on the plane and tweeted that "illegal weapons" should be banned. She posted a photo from inside the plane showing a bullet hole over the baggage hold, adding that she will give further details during a TV talk show later in the evening.
Shooting in the air is common in Lebanon, where people often open fire to celebrate passing schools or university exams, as well as during weddings and funerals. Such shootings also tend to follow when the country's political leaders give speeches.
It is also common for Lebanese to have pistols and automatic rifles at home, many of them left over from the country's 1975-90 civil war.
10 November 2022, 19:33
01
One of these days they will bring a plane down, then and only then someone in authority in the country may actually wake up and realise the danger of so many illegal arms in the country.
11 November 2022, 17:40
00
And despite of all those illegal arms, more civilians are killed and injured by the "legal" arms of the israeli army and settler militias each year. But here you are pretending to care about the illegal arms in lebanon and the harm they could cause. How much does an israeli shill make for each comment?
10 November 2022, 22:38
01
The hole is quite large for an ordinary rifle. Perhaps this is a large caliber sniping rifle? That would mean it was premeditated, perhaps as a message to the MP on board?
