Could the Tropic Air Plane Hijacking Have Been Prevented?

A terrifying mid-air ordeal over Belize ended with American hijacker 49-year-old Akinyela Sawa Taylor being ultimately shot and killed by a passenger. Taylor had hijacked a Tropic Air flight and stabbed three people.

Taylor, a U.S. military veteran and father of four, had arrived in Belize just nine days prior, on April 8, via an American Airlines flight from Miami, Florida. Immigration records show this was his first time visiting the country.

Taylor was involved in at least two troubling incidents in the days leading up to the attack—events that, if handled differently, may have prevented the tragedy.

Last week, Akinyela Sawa Taylor caused a disturbance at the Philip Goldson International Airport when he attempted to board a United Airlines flight to the U.S. without a ticket, prompting security to remove him.

On Saturday, April 12, he tried to enter Chetumal, Mexico, via the Santa Elena Border but was denied by Mexican authorities and then refused re-entry into Belize.

Taylor later surfaced in the Corozal Free Zone, where he reportedly spent the night in an abandoned building. He was later confronted by Corozal police and Free Zone security, during which he allegedly assaulted a police officer.

Although initially detained, Taylor was released on the directive of a high-ranking Belize Police Department official, according to sources.

It’s unclear how Taylor returned to Belize or boarded the Tropic Air flight from Ranchito Airstrip early Thursday.