More than 100 Allegiant Air planes broke down mid air in two years

More than 100 Allegiant Air planes broke down mid air in two years



Budget airline Allegiant Air is more than three times more likely to have a break down mid-air than any of its competitors, FAA data shows.



Serious incidents included cabins filling with smoke or toxic fumes, major components on ageing planes breaking on takeoff, and blown engines.



Allegiant, the ninth-biggest carrier in the U.S., had more than 100 serious mechanical issues between January 2016 and October 2017.





They included aborted takeoffs, rapid descents, flight control malfunctions, and midair engine failures.



The reports obtained by 60 Minutes showed its rate of incidents was 3.5 times higher compared to seven other airlines including United, JetBlue, Delta, and Spirit.



Allegiant hits profit margins of up to 30 per cent, the highest in the business, but experts and its own employees believe this is done by cutting safety corners.



Numerous traumatised passengers told stories of horror emergencies where they believed they were going to die, and even of cabin crew crying in distress.



In one incident, a flight from Cincinnati to Las Vegas in July last year was delayed for three hours while mechanics worked on the engine.



As soon as the plane took off, the engine blew with such force it popped open the cockpit doors and the plane had to make an emergency landing.



'There was smoke in the cabin and fire coming out of that engine. I just remember thinking that I would never see my daughter again,' passenger Mercedes Weller said



Passengers all turned on their phones to called loved ones. She texted her husband to say: 'If something happens, just know that I've been very happy. And I love you.'



Last September another flight landed in Fresno, CA, and the cabin filled with a white gas that made it difficult for passengers to breathe.



Instead of opening the doors to evacuate, the pilot told passengers to breathe through their shirts or wet napkins.





The crying flight attendants [were] walking around not making eye contact, blindly handing out wet cocktail napkins,' passengers Scott Shuemake and his brother-in-law Chris recalled.



Oxygen masks never deployed and passengers were stuck on the plane for at least 12 minutes until they were finally let off.



But unlike a normal evacuation, they were told to leave via the usual plane stairs and remember their cabin luggage so everything would look normal.



'They can't have the image on the 6pm news of a bunch of passengers jumping with their arms crossed on a yellow slide,' Mr Shuemake said.



The fumes turned out to be Skydrol 4, a hazardous hydraulic fluid.





Another incident took place in August 2015, during a period where the Tampa Bay Times found the airline was four times more likely to have issues than other carriers.



A plane was barrelling down the Las Vegas runway and the pilot was having trouble controlling the plane and so aborted takeoff.



Investigators discovered a cotter pin, that holds together essential components necessary for the pilots to fly the plane, was missing.



A damning inspection report found the pin was missing for weeks as maintenance skipped procedures that would have seen it fives times.



During that time, the plane flew 200 times, and would have killed everyone on board if the components came loose.



Inspectors recommend Allegiant be fined the maximum amount possible to prevent 'potential tragedies' in the future.





'Every stop gap in place to enhance safety to a critical flight control was skipped, bypassed or improperly done,' the report read.



The inspector said it amounted to 'careless (and possibly reckless) conduct' and 'deliberate and systemic acts of noncompliance' with Allegiant's maintenance procedures and federal aviation rules.



'They are clearly a repeat offender that show an unwillingness to admit errors unless it will not cost the company money,' he wrote.



However, the FAA chose to give the company a slap on the wrist and instead work with it to improve procedures and compliance.



In a fourth incident from 2015 highlighted by 60 Minutes, a pilot was fired for evacuating a plane when the cabin filled with smoke from one of the engines.



In Captain John Kinzer's letter of termination, Allegiant accused him of ordering an 'entirely unwarranted' evacuation and not 'striving to preserve the company's assets'





He sued for wrongful dismissal after being unable to get another job as a pilot, with the case to go to court next month.



Daniel Wells, a former captain who now heads the pilots union, said the case highlighted how pilots were told to play down incidents and faults.



'What I hear from hundreds of conversations with Allegiant pilots, is the management of Allegiant seems to denigrate the pursuit of safety,' he said.



'What I hear from the Allegiant pilots are they get a call from maintenance control, says: "You didn't write anything up, did you?"