by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:15 PM ET, Tue September 26, 2017
Following a safe landing at a California airport Monday, the cabin of an Allegiant Air plane filled with smoke and forced passengers to be evacuated.
According to The Associated Press, the Allegiant Air flight had just landed at Fresno Yosemite International Airport after a journey from Las Vegas when it began taxing to the gate. The plane came to an abrupt stop when smoke began to fill the cabin.
The smoke became thicker and passengers were forced to cover their faces with shirts and wet napkins. One of the passengers onboard, a 34-year-old police officer named Estevan Moreno, said the smoke was causing many people to cough uncontrollably.
"We used our shirts to mask our faces from the smoke," Moreno said. "I was coughing pretty good from it."
Firefighters were called to the scene and as the emergency personnel boarded the plane, the six crew members onboard asked passengers to collect their carry-on items and exit the plane down a set of rear steps.
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Of the 150 passengers on the flight at the time of the incident, none were injured.
Officials from Allegiant Air said the smoke was caused by a mechanical problem and the evacuation of the passengers was done "out of an abundance of caution." The airline sent Moreno and other impacted passengers a $50 voucher for another flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration classified the incident as an emergency and revealed all passengers were escorted to the terminal. An investigation is underway.
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