Colonel Savage
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Airplane overshoots runway, passengers unhurt
BY PAT FERRIER
For Loveland Connection
AND HALLIE WOODS
For Loveland Connection
Passengers of an Allegiant flight are evacuated after it overshot the Fort Collins/Loveland Airport runway Sunday
A planeload of Northern Colorado residents coming home from Las Vegas were unhurt Sunday afternoon when an Allegiant Air flight overshot the runway at Fort Collins/Loveland Airport.
The pilot slammed on the brakes after touchdown about 1:45 p.m. but not in time to keep the MD80 aircraft on the runway. The aircraft's front wheel stopped about 10 feet off the runway, according to reports. None of the 145 passengers or five crew members on board were hurt.
"He came in hot," Todd Bohnertof Loveland said while waiting for his baggage at the airport. "You could smell the burnt rubber."
Some said they were a little nervous when the pilot "slammed on the brakes."
"It was just a little weird when you're on a plane and you feel the brakes go that hard," said Katie Sall of Windsor.
Passengers said they were stuck on the plane for about 90 minutes before being bused back to the airport terminal to wait for their luggage.
Allegiant evacuated the entire plane in hopes that the lighter plane would be able to back up and get the front wheel unstuck from the gravel at the end of the runway, said Ty Drage, a spokesman for the Loveland Fire and Rescue Department.
That didn't happen and the plane had to be towed back onto the runway.
It taxied back to the ramp area where it was inspected for damage, airport manager Dave Gordon said.
After the plane was cleared Sunday, it returned to Las Vegas with a full load of passengers.
Spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said Sunday that scheduled service to Las Vegas will take off as planned. Allegiant Air has promised a full investigation. "We take these things very seriously."
Meanwhile, passengers waiting to fly from Fort Collins/Loveland to Las Vegas were in limbo Sunday as they waited for word on their flight.
"I hurried because I thought I was going to be late but sure enough, now I am waiting," said Yolanda Gonzales, a Las Vegas resident who was visiting family in Cheyenne.
Allegiant typically makes a quick turnaround on its Vegas flights dropping off passengers then getting back into the air about 30 minutes later with another flight headed for Las Vegas.
Denise Benz of Fort Collins said the approach to Fort Collins/Loveland Airport was smooth until the wheels touched down.
The pilot slammed on the brakes and passengers "could smell the rubber burning," she said.
Benz said she and her fellow passengers were cracking jokes while watching law enforcement officers on horseback and firefighters assessing the situation.
"It's pretty comical. Everyone on board is making lots of jokes," she said.
The FAA was notified and the runway shut down shortly after the incident, Gordon said.
It was too early to tell how or why the pilot overshot the runway.
This was Benz's first time flying from Fort Collins/Loveland Airport to Las Vegas.
"We were excited to be leaving from Fort Collins and not having to go to DIA," she said. As to whether she'll make the regular Vegas flight again, she said she probably would. "In terms of going bad, this is OK," Benz said. "I feel bad for the pilot."
BY PAT FERRIER
For Loveland Connection
AND HALLIE WOODS
For Loveland Connection
Michael G. Seamans/For Loveland Connection
Passengers of an Allegiant flight are evacuated after it overshot the Fort Collins/Loveland Airport runway Sunday
A planeload of Northern Colorado residents coming home from Las Vegas were unhurt Sunday afternoon when an Allegiant Air flight overshot the runway at Fort Collins/Loveland Airport.
The pilot slammed on the brakes after touchdown about 1:45 p.m. but not in time to keep the MD80 aircraft on the runway. The aircraft's front wheel stopped about 10 feet off the runway, according to reports. None of the 145 passengers or five crew members on board were hurt.
"He came in hot," Todd Bohnertof Loveland said while waiting for his baggage at the airport. "You could smell the burnt rubber."
Some said they were a little nervous when the pilot "slammed on the brakes."
"It was just a little weird when you're on a plane and you feel the brakes go that hard," said Katie Sall of Windsor.
Passengers said they were stuck on the plane for about 90 minutes before being bused back to the airport terminal to wait for their luggage.
Allegiant evacuated the entire plane in hopes that the lighter plane would be able to back up and get the front wheel unstuck from the gravel at the end of the runway, said Ty Drage, a spokesman for the Loveland Fire and Rescue Department.
That didn't happen and the plane had to be towed back onto the runway.
It taxied back to the ramp area where it was inspected for damage, airport manager Dave Gordon said.
After the plane was cleared Sunday, it returned to Las Vegas with a full load of passengers.
Spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said Sunday that scheduled service to Las Vegas will take off as planned. Allegiant Air has promised a full investigation. "We take these things very seriously."
Meanwhile, passengers waiting to fly from Fort Collins/Loveland to Las Vegas were in limbo Sunday as they waited for word on their flight.
"I hurried because I thought I was going to be late but sure enough, now I am waiting," said Yolanda Gonzales, a Las Vegas resident who was visiting family in Cheyenne.
Allegiant typically makes a quick turnaround on its Vegas flights dropping off passengers then getting back into the air about 30 minutes later with another flight headed for Las Vegas.
Denise Benz of Fort Collins said the approach to Fort Collins/Loveland Airport was smooth until the wheels touched down.
The pilot slammed on the brakes and passengers "could smell the rubber burning," she said.
Benz said she and her fellow passengers were cracking jokes while watching law enforcement officers on horseback and firefighters assessing the situation.
"It's pretty comical. Everyone on board is making lots of jokes," she said.
The FAA was notified and the runway shut down shortly after the incident, Gordon said.
It was too early to tell how or why the pilot overshot the runway.
This was Benz's first time flying from Fort Collins/Loveland Airport to Las Vegas.
"We were excited to be leaving from Fort Collins and not having to go to DIA," she said. As to whether she'll make the regular Vegas flight again, she said she probably would. "In terms of going bad, this is OK," Benz said. "I feel bad for the pilot."
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