This was a close(d) call, to be sure.
The pilot of an Allegiant Air flight from Las Vegas to Fargo, North Dakota was told he could not land at the city's Hector International Airport because the runway was closed.
That's right, closed.
Air traffic controllers relented and allowed the flight to land after the pilot said he had three minutes of fuel left and needed to make an emergency landing.
Apparently, the Navy's Blue Angels flight team was in town preparing for an upcoming show and the runway was closed to allow the fighter jets to takeoff and land during their practice.
Whether that was communicated to the Allegiant flight is unclear but complicating the problem is that the plane, Flight 426, was delayed almost an hour in Las Vegas before departing. Had the flight not been delayed, it would have easily hit the window to land on the runway at Fargo well before it was closed.
Initially, the pilot began circling above the runway and was told by air traffic controllers to land at an alternate airport some 70 miles from Fargo. But the pilot immediately relayed his dire fuel situation.
"Flight 426 with scheduled service from LAS to FAR on July 23, 2015 declared a fuel emergency upon arrival at Hector International Airport (FAR) and subsequently landed safely," Allegiant said in a statement. "At this time, we are coordinating with the FAA and the airport to investigate all channels of communication regarding the flight and the circumstances leading to the declaration of emergency."
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