FAA investigating after close call between Allegiant Air flight, private jet in Florida
Flight diverted back to Fort Lauderdale International Airport following incident, FAA says
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating a close call between an Allegiant Air flight and a private jet near Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida.
The FAA told Fox Business in a statement that "Allegiant Air Flight 485, an Airbus A320, took evasive action on Sunday, July 23, after the pilot received an automated alert about another aircraft at the same altitude."
"An air traffic controller in the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center had instructed Flight 485 to turn eastbound at an altitude of 23,000 feet when it crossed in front of a northbound Gulfstream business jet," the FAA continued. "The pilot of the Gulfstream also took evasive action after receiving a similar alert."
The FAA said the Allegiant flight ultimately returned to Fort Lauderdale International Airport "where a flight attendant was treated for injuries."
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An Allegiant plane is seen at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Nov. 7, 2018. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"It honestly felt like a roller coaster, like when you come down from the highest point, and then you take a big hill," passenger Jerrica Thacker told Fox News Digital last month. "We all suddenly moved up, which to us felt like we moved down."
She said it was only her second time on a plane – and after the frightening experience, she never wanted to fly again.
An Allegiant Air spokesperson, when asked by Fox Business for comment, deferred to the FAA, citing the "active investigation."
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In March, the FAA issued a safety alert for airlines and pilots following a series of "concerning" near-miss incidents at American airports in prior months.
The "Aviation Safety Call to Action" referenced six "serious runway incursions" that unfolded up until that point this year, making mention of "an incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City involving a taxiing aircraft narrowly avoiding a departing aircraft and a landing aircraft coming within 100 feet of a departing aircraft at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas."
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An Allegiant Air flight arrives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on the morning of its reopening Apr. 14, 2023. A flight attendant on board the Allegiant plane involved in the July 23 close call was treated for injuries after landin (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"In recent months, a number of notable and high visibility events have occurred in the National Airspace System," the FAA said at the time. "While the overall numbers do not reflect an increase in incidents and occurrences, the potential severity of these events is concerning."
That same month, the FAA launched an investigation of a close call between two planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
At around 8:30 a.m. on March 7, Republic Airways Flight 4736 crossed a runway at DCA without clearance. The plane crossed the path of United Airlines Flight 2003, which had just been cleared for takeoff, the FAA said.
A United Airlines Airbus 320-232 is seen parked at Dulles Washington International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Aug. 14, 2021. One of the airlines' planes was involved in a close call at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in March. (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Before disaster struck, an air traffic controller noticed the situation and immediately canceled the United flight's takeoff clearance.
Fox Business’ Chris Pandolfo and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.