Midair Incident as Planes Nearly Collide

You always hear about two planes that bump into each other on the runway, or one that attempts to land on the same runway as a plane is waiting to take off. but a true catastrophe was averted just days ago.

On July 23, an Allegiant Airlines plane came dangerously close to another plane and had to take evasive action. The two planes were flying in the same direction. An official report of the incident was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Several passengers were reportedly injured when the pilot of the Allegiant plane rose 600 feet to avoid the other plane.

“It honestly felt like a roller coaster,” one of the passengers said.

A midair collision is a rarity and almost never happens, but with so many planes in the air, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

The Allegiant Air flight had just left Fort Lauderdale and was flying to Lexington, Kentucky. The other plane was not a commercial aircraft, but a private Gulfstream jet.

The Allegiant plane returned to Fort Lauderdale. One of the injured passengers was a flight attendant who needed to have her injuries diagnosed.

“We were all too shook up to fly again,” said a passenger. It is not known if the Allegiant flight faces an FAA fine or what happened to the Gulfstream jet.