Steve Kroft, a "60 Minutes" correspondent, has spent more than seven months investigating the safety record of Allegiant Air, and, this week on the broadcast, he shared his findings in a two-part report.Along with producers Michael Karzis and Vanessa Fica, Kroft found that, between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of October, Allegiant experienced more than 100 serious mechanical incidents, including aborted takeoffs, rapid descents, flight control malfunctions and midair engine failures.ALLEGIANT AIR: THE BUDGET AIRLINE FLYING UNDER THE RADARIn a conversation with Ann Silvio, of "60 Minutes Overtime," Kroft said he and his team felt a "sense of urgency" about the investigation and talked about a delay the team encountered in the reporting process.The team tried to obtain mechanical interruption summary reports, which are logs of failures that cause delays or in-flight diversions, for eight airlines so they could analyze the differences among the airlines.Using the Freedom of Information Act, Kroft and his team asked the Federal Aviation Administration for more than a year's worth of the reports for Allegiant and seven other airlines. They received the documents from every airline except Allegiant, which objected to their release.Six days after interviewing FAA representative John Duncan, the executive director of flight standards, the FAA overruled Allegiant's objections and produced the reports. They showed that, for the period the "60 Minutes" team compared, Allegiant was, on average, nearly three and a half times more likely to have a midair breakdown than Delta, United, American, Spirit or JetBlue.Though the FAA ultimately provided the report, Kroft said Duncan's interview was "stunning for the lack of information given up by the FAA.""I think people will be concerned about the FAA and the FAA's response to Allegiant," he said.In researching incidents on Allegiant, Kroft spoke with a number of passengers, including five he talked to on camera. Their responses range from being angry to traumatized -- a feeling Kroft knows after being involved in a plane crash himself. He was returning from covering President Ronald Reagan in Brazil when the aircraft he was in clipped an instrument tower on takeoff. The impact damaged wing flaps on both sides and tore off the landing gear on the left side. The plane had to fly around to burn fuel before making an emergency crash landing."It does have an effect on you," Kroft said. "It was a long time before I was able to feel comfortable taking off. It's a very traumatic experience."While Allegiant has experienced frequent midair mishaps, Kroft notes that the airline has never had a fatal accident. Still, he found out that some of those who know of its safety record won't fly aboard its planes"Do you know anybody in the industry that flies Allegiant?" he asks Loretta Alkalay, a former lawyer for the FAA."No," she said. "No. And I know that a lot of people talk about how they don't fly Allegiant."
(CBS News) — Steve Kroft, a "60 Minutes" correspondent, has spent more than seven months investigating the safety record of Allegiant Air, and, this week on the broadcast, he shared his findings in a two-part report.
Along with producers Michael Karzis and Vanessa Fica, Kroft found that, between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of October, Allegiant experienced more than 100 serious mechanical incidents, including aborted takeoffs, rapid descents, flight control malfunctions and midair engine failures.
ALLEGIANT AIR: THE BUDGET AIRLINE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR
In a conversation with Ann Silvio, of "60 Minutes Overtime," Kroft said he and his team felt a "sense of urgency" about the investigation and talked about a delay the team encountered in the reporting process.
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The team tried to obtain mechanical interruption summary reports, which are logs of failures that cause delays or in-flight diversions, for eight airlines so they could analyze the differences among the airlines.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Kroft and his team asked the Federal Aviation Administration for more than a year's worth of the reports for Allegiant and seven other airlines. They received the documents from every airline except Allegiant, which objected to their release.
Six days after interviewing FAA representative John Duncan, the executive director of flight standards, the FAA overruled Allegiant's objections and produced the reports. They showed that, for the period the "60 Minutes" team compared, Allegiant was, on average, nearly three and a half times more likely to have a midair breakdown than Delta, United, American, Spirit or JetBlue.
Though the FAA ultimately provided the report, Kroft said Duncan's interview was "stunning for the lack of information given up by the FAA."
"I think people will be concerned about the FAA and the FAA's response to Allegiant," he said.
In researching incidents on Allegiant, Kroft spoke with a number of passengers, including five he talked to on camera.
CBS News
During his seven-month investigation of Allegiant, correspondent Steve Kroft spoke with a number of Allegiant passengers whose flights experienced issues.
Their responses range from being angry to traumatized -- a feeling Kroft knows after being involved in a plane crash himself. He was returning from covering President Ronald Reagan in Brazil when the aircraft he was in clipped an instrument tower on takeoff.
The impact damaged wing flaps on both sides and tore off the landing gear on the left side. The plane had to fly around to burn fuel before making an emergency crash landing.
"It does have an effect on you," Kroft said. "It was a long time before I was able to feel comfortable taking off. It's a very traumatic experience."
While Allegiant has experienced frequent midair mishaps, Kroft notes that the airline has never had a fatal accident. Still, he found out that some of those who know of its safety record won't fly aboard its planes
"Do you know anybody in the industry that flies Allegiant?" he asks Loretta Alkalay, a former lawyer for the FAA.
"No," she said. "No. And I know that a lot of people talk about how they don't fly Allegiant."