The probe into the discovery of an empty bullet shell casing on board a Fiji Airways aircraft in April this year has yet to identify the individual who may have carried the item.
Providing an update on the investigation in Parliament, Civil Aviation Minister Viliame Gavoka said the difficulty in identifying the person was because the aircraft was used on three different flights (Dallas to Nadi, Fiji to Sydney and Sydney to Fiji) before the discovery was made on April 7.
“Immediately after the bullet casing was discovered, Fiji Police were notified and conducted an initial investigation,” he said.
“A full secondary aircraft search was also carried out before any boarding resumed.
“The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji assumed leadership of the investigation and officially requested further details from Fiji Airways on April 10, 2025.
“Fiji Airways responded promptly and engaged its station managers in Dallas and Sydney to gather any possible insights into how the bullet may have ended up on board.”
He said the investigation considered several scenarios, including identifying the passenger seated in seat 38G on the Sydney to Fiji leg.
“However, as honourable members would appreciate, overhead compartments are shared and not restricted to the passenger seated directly beneath them.
“This makes it challenging to definitively identify who may have placed the item there.
“A key challenge was the timeliness and completeness of available information, especially given the multi-flight legs and international ports involved,” he said.
