Allegiant flight from Las Vegas skids off runway in South Dakota
No one was injured Sunday morning when an Allegiant Air plane traveling from Las Vegas landed in heavy snow and skidded off a runway in South Dakota.
Allegiant Flight 456, which was carrying 155 passengers and six crew members, touched down shortly after 11:40 a.m. at Sioux Falls Regional Airport. The heavy snow and strong winds, which airline spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said were unanticipated, caused the aircraft to slide about 20 feet off the runway.
The plane remained level and upright, and only the nose of the plane left the marked runway, Grey said. The passengers and crew members left the aircraft by its rear stairs and were bused to the terminal.
Grey said an Allegiant flight from Las Vegas landed in Sioux Falls about three hours earlier Sunday morning and that weather conditions “were totally different” when that plane touched down.
Allegiant spokeswoman Krysta Levy said maintenance workers were inspecting the jetliner. She said the return flight to Las Vegas was canceled because of deteriorating weather in Sioux Falls.
Other flights in and out of the South Dakota airport have been canceled, Grey said.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.