When an Allegiant Air pilot had to take evasive action to avoid a mid-air crash, the maneuver was so drastic that a flight attendant got knocked senseless. She had to be taken to the hospital after an emergency landing. Passengers were terrified but they’re thrilled to be back on the ground.
Mid-air crash avoided
There is never anything good about a plane crash, so mid-air collisions are something everyone in the industry works real hard to avoid. That’s why we have an air traffic control system in the first place.
Initial reports suggest that one of those traffic controllers may have messed up. That led to the serious injury of an Allegiant Air flight attendant on Sunday, July 23.
As noted by the Federal Aviation Administration, flight 485 took off from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida and was headed for Kentucky. It’s been confirmed that an air traffic controller in the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center gave Allegiant the order “to turn eastbound at an altitude of 23,000 feet.”
This is how close #Allegiant air flight 485 from Fort Lauderdale came to colliding with a private jet. Both are at 23,000 feet pic.twitter.com/4PUugx9UUs
— Jeremy (@DSky3) July 28, 2023
While doing so, “it crossed in front of a northbound Gulfstream business jet.” Thankfully, the robots were paying more attention than the humans, averting the crash by notifying the flight crew. The pilot “received an automated alert about another aircraft at the same altitude.”
The pilot of the Gulfstream got a similar alert from their automated sensors. Both pilots took evasive action. Luckily, the commercial jet climbed up while the smaller plane dived down.
They avoided a crash but there were still serious consequences. “The Allegiant plane returned to the Fort Lauderdale airport, where the injured flight attendant was treated for injuries.”
FAA still investigating
The FAA and NTSB are still investigating the entire sequence of events and Allegiant declined to comment on the incident. Passengers aren’t shy about telling the tale of how they narrowly escaped death in a fiery mid-air crash.
“We went straight up,” 21-year-old Jerrica Thacker relates. “It truly felt like a roller coaster. We went up and down and then leveled out.” Her and her family were on their way home to Kentucky.
At first, because of the thrust, “It felt like we were nose diving, but we later found out that we went straight up.” She was terrified but at least she was strapped in her seat.
The FAA Is investigating a midair incident where an Allegiant Air flight and a private Gulfstream jet were forced to take "evasive action" to avoid a possible collision. pic.twitter.com/mRvxCe3X6O
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 27, 2023
That’s why they suggest that even when the seat belt light is off, it’s best to keep it secure anyway. Turbulence is a whole lot more common than a crash but the safety devices are there for a reason.
As the plane headed for orbit, two flight attendants fell backwards, “one of whom stayed on the ground for five minutes before she was helped up and escorted to the rear of the plane,” Ms. Thacker relates. That’s when the “flight crew asked if there were any medically trained individuals on the plane.” About 20 minutes later, the pilot announced a return to Ft. Lauderdale.
That’s when he explained he had to do that to avoid a crash. Until then, passengers were fairly calm but when he told them how close they came, “Thacker saw people praying and crying.” Her family had enough of air travel for a while. “instead of getting back on a plane, Thacker and her family rented a car and drove 15 hours to Kentucky.” As she explained, “We were all too shook up to fly again.“
