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Allegiant Jet Fills With Smoke At Fresno Yosemite Airport

Estavan Moreno

Passengers on an Allegiant Airlines plane had to exit onto the Tarmac at the Fresno Yosemite Airport today after the cabin of their plane filled with smoke.

Flight AAY514 landed shortly after noon today on one of Allegiant’s daily runs from Vegas to Fresno.

Shortly after landing the plane ran into problems.

Passenger Estevan Moreno took videos showing smoke filling the cabin.

“We were taxing back toward the gate when suddenly we came to a hard stop like they hit the brakes. And then, shortly after that, you started seeing the smoke started filling the cabin,” Moreno says.

Moreno says most passengers took the smoke-filled cabin with a sense of humor rather than alarm. They safely exited the plane outside the terminal.

The Fresno Yosemite International Airport did not respond to requests for comment. Allegiant Airlines says they are aware of the issue and investigation what caused the smoke.

This would not be the first time Allegiant has run into problems with its aircraft.

On average, their plans are the oldest in the airline industry at nearly 20 years of age. For comparison, American Airlines, which is in the middle of the pack, has plans that average about 10 years old.

The company is in the process of phasing out the model of plane involved in this incident.

Jeffrey Hess is a reporter and Morning Edition news host for Valley Public Radio. Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in rural southeast Ohio. After graduating from Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio with a communications degree, Jeffrey embarked on a radio career. After brief stops at stations in Ohio and Texas, and not so brief stops in Florida and Mississippi, Jeffrey and his new wife Shivon are happy to be part Valley Public Radio.