On January 16, 1996, Jimmy Buffett was heading toward Jamaica on his seaplane, the Hemisphere Dancer. On board the 1954 HU-16 Grumman Albatross were Buffett’s guests U2 frontman Bono, his wife Ali, and their children Jordan and Eve, along with Island Records producer Chris Blackwell. Before the plane reached its destination, Buffett landed at an airport in Negril, Jamaica to refuel when it was fired upon by Jamaican authorities, who mistook it for a drug-smuggling aircraft.
“We flew the plane in, got off, and as the plane took off to go get fuel, we were surrounded by a Jamaican S.W.A.T. team,” said Buffett in a 1996 interview. “I thought it was a joke until I heard the gunfire.”
Fortunately, no one on board was injured, but the Hemisphere Dancer was punctured by multiple bullet holes.
“These boys were shooting all over the place,” said Bono. “I felt as if we were in the middle of a James Bond movie. I honestly thought we were all going to die. You can’t believe the relief I felt when I saw the kids were okay.”
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“Jamaica Mistaica”
The incident inspired Buffett to write a more light-hearted account of their near-death experience on “Jamaica Mistaica,” from his 20th album Banana Wind, which went to No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Some folks say that I’ve got the perfect life
Three swell kids, lots of toys and a lovely wife
I fly, I sail, I throw caution to the wind
Drift like a stratus cloud above the Caribbean
But every now and then, the dragons come to call
Just when you least expect it, you’ll be dodgin’ cannonballs
I’ve seen too much not to stay in touch
With a world made of love and luck
I got a big suspicion ’bout ammunition
I never forget to duck
“Like all things, it made for a good song,” said Buffett of the event. “I know that there are times in my life where I probably should have been shot at for a lot worse behavior, but on this particular instance, I was innocent—not even a spliff.”
The Hemisphere Dancer ‘Retires’
The Hemisphere Dancer, which originally served as a long-range search and rescue plane for the U.S. Navy before Buffett bought and restored it in 1990, was retired in 2003.
The aircraft was displayed in front of the Orlando Margaritaville Café at the Universal City Walk at the Lone Palm Airport bar.
Photo: Savannah Jane Buffett / Courtesy of Press House PR
