Same Aircraft Had To Return Twice To St. Pete-Clearwater Airport

An Allegiant Airlines Airbus A320 with 171 passengers and crew on board which had departed St. Pete-Clearwater airport (KPIE) in Florida in route to Newburgh, NY on Thursday morning was forced to turn back about 30 minutes into the flight due to a suspected hydraulic leak in the airplane.

The flight circled six times over the Gulf of Mexico dumping fuel before landing safely back at the airport.

While such things do happen, this particular airplane had suffered a similar incident the day before, according to Tampa television station WTVT. On Wednesday, the same Airbus A320 had departed on a flight from KPIE to Moline, IL when the crew detected a hydraulic leak and returned to the airport, according to Allegiant.

The airline said the hydraulic line was replaced and the plane was cleared to fly. After the second incident, the carrier said its inspectors had found there was not an issue with the hydraulic system. It eventually released a statement saying a "mechanical issue" had been the cause for terminating Thursday's flight.

"The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority, and our primary focus is accommodating any immediate needs they may have," the statement said.  "Our mechanics will do a thorough investigation of the aircraft to diagnosis and repair the issue. We are currently working to ensure we can get passengers to their destination as soon as possible, and will update affected passengers as we have more information regarding new departure times."

It was the third incident involving an Allegiant airplane during the week. Last Monday, an Allegiant flight from Orlando, FL to North Carolina turned back due to what was described as a number of issues, including one with the plane's electrical system.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov