Investigation Finds Allegiant Air Jets More Likely to Fail
A report from the Tampa Bay Times analyzed flight data for every major airline
According to an investigation by the Tampa Bay Times, Allegiant Air’s planes are four times as likely to fail during flight compared to other U.S. airlines.
The in-depth investigation found that Allegiant planes were forced to make unexpected landings at least 77 times for serious mechanical failures in 2015.
In order to compare Allegiant to other airlines, the paper built a database of 65,000 records form the FAA. A year’s worth of flight records was connected to mechanical problems from the 11 largest domestic carriers in the United States.
Forty-two of Allegiant’s 86 planes broke down in mid-flight at least once in 2015, according to the report, including 15 forced to land by failing engines.