‘Terrifying ’: Allegiant plane avoids near-collision at 23,000 feet

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Passengers and crew members suffered a frightening moment on Sunday when an Allegiant aircraft avoided a mid-air collision with another plane.

>> Read more trending news

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Flight 485 departed Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 12:44 p.m. EDT. The aircraft’s destination was Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.

A flight attendant was injured when the aircraft had to “initiate a climb” to avoid colliding with a Gulfstream business jet, the newspaper reported. There were 175 passengers and six crew members on board the Allegiant aircraft.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson, the Allegiant Airbus A320 was at the same altitude as the business jet and had to take “evasive action,” turning eastbound at 23,000 feet when it crossed in front of the smaller aircraft, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The Gulfstream’s pilot also had to take evasive action after receiving a similar alert from an air traffic controller in the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center, according to the newspaper.

It was unclear how the two aircraft came so close to one another.

Jerrica Thacker, 21, was traveling home to Kentucky with family members after a six-day cruise through the Caribbean, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

She told the newspaper that the plane “went up in the air.”

“It was probably one of the most terrifying things I experienced,” Thacker told the newspaper.

Allegiant spokesperson Sonya Padgett told the Sun-Sentinel that the plane returned to Fort Lauderdale after a flight attendant lost her balance and was injured. She added that there were no other injuries.

The flight attendant was taken off the plane and was treated by paramedics. The Allegiant plane took off again from Fort Lauderdale at 7:04 p.m. EDT and arrived in Lexington at 9:19 p.m. EDT.

The incident remains under investigation.