An Allegiant Air flight made an emergency landing Thursday morning in Gainesville due to a medical emergency.
Flight 1304 landed at the Gainesville Regional Airport at 8:39 a.m. The plane departed from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport about two hours prior, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. The original destination was headed to Punta Gorda, Florida.
Gainesville Fire Rescue received a call at 8:24 a.m. and were told that a crew member was having a medical emergency. According to Gainesville Fire’s Twitter, the pilot suffered from a seizure. GFR District Chief Don Campbell declined to elaborate on the patient’s condition.
Moments after the call, a rescue team was at the airport waiting for the plane to land, Campbell said.
The plane landed safely, and the rescue team was able to get to the patient, who was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, Campbell said. There were 155 people aboard the flight.
“Our teamwork with the Gainesville Police Department and the Gainesville Regional Airport made it possible to intervene quickly,” Campbell said. “We were able to get to our appropriate places and access the patient while maintaining operations.”
Erin Porter, from the Gainesville airport, said a new crew was brought in. Passengers were boarding their flight by 1:16 p.m.
“This is not an Allegiant airport,” Porter said. “We fly American Airlines and Delta (Air Lines), but in a medical emergency, any airport would open itself up to assist.”
Follow Jessica Curbelo on Twitter and contact her at jcurbelo@alligator.org.
