CLEARWATER FL – An Airbus 320 jet that took off from Florida bound for Stewart Airport, turned around and went back to St. Pete-Clearwater on Thursday when pilots noticed a slight drop in the lane’s level of hydraulic fluid.
On Wednesday, the same plane landed safely in Florida on a flight from Moline, Illinois when pilots detected a leak in a hydraulic line and declared an emergency.
In both situations, the plane landed safely.
On the Stewart-bound flight, airline officials said the fluid never dropped below the minimum level required to operate the place safely.
“Although inspection of the aircraft by our maintenance team indicates
there is no issue present and that at no point was the aircraft at risk,
we support the crew’s decision to preemptively return to the airport,”
the airline said.
Passengers on the Stewart-bound flight were transferred to another aircraft and brought to the Hudson Valley facility.
Allegiant operates two weekly roundtrip flights between Stewart and St. Pete-Clearwater. Next week, it will add seasonal service twice weekly between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Stewart.
