My gosh, this seems like something right out of a movie, and sadly there were fatalities.
Robbers try to steal cash from plane arriving from Miami
Earlier today (Wednesday), a LATAM Boeing 787-9 was the target of a heist at the airport. The aircraft had just landed from Miami in the morning, and was carrying $32.5 million in cash that was supposed to be transferred to an armored truck, and then be delivered to several banks in the country.
Robbers were clearly made aware of the valuable cargo on this jet, and around 10 heavily armed robbers managed to avoid security and reach the apron at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.
This caused a shootout between the robbers and security officials. Tragically a security official was left dead, and a robber died as well. Following this shootout, the robbers fled the airport. Two burned vehicles were later found near the airport, presumably to cover up the identity of those behind this scheme.
Chile’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has made it clear that this attempted heist will lead to the revision of processes and protocols to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. However, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen something like this at Santiago Airport.
In 2020, thieves managed to steal $15 million from a warehouse at the airport, while several years prior to that, thieves managed to steal $10 million. While this plot was ultimately unsuccessful, it would have been the largest heist yet.
Was a Delta plane damaged in this incident?
Initially there were reports that a Delta Airbus A350-900 got caught up in this situation. The plane was parked right next to the LATAM 787-9 that was the target of the heist. Some people at the airport claimed that as part of the exchange of gunfire between the robbers and security officials, several bullets ended up in the fuselage of the Delta jet.
However, that’s not the case. A Delta spokesperson confirms that the airline has extensively examined the aircraft and has not found any damage. The aircraft is still operating its regular service. For what it’s worth, this particular Delta aircraft has the registration code N574DZ, and it’s a roughly four year old jet that was acquired through LATAM.
Bottom line
A LATAM Boeing 787-9 was the target of a robbery today at Santiago Airport. The aircraft was carrying $32.5 million in cash, and 10 armed robbers managed to storm the apron and then attempted to steal the valuable cargo.
Gunfire was exchanged between security officers and the robbers, and the criminals ended up fleeing. Sadly there were fatalities — my thoughts are with the family of the brave security officer who lost their life in this incident.
What do you make of this attempted heist at Santiago Airport?
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