Pilot with 3 minutes of fuel left told 'airport closed'
An Allegiant Air flight was left in difficulty last week after the aircraft ran out of fuel.
Flight 426 was an hour delayed as it left Las Vegas for Fargo, North Dakota, last Thursday and it turns out this was the main issue.
Watch: Spitfire pilot makes emergency landing without wheels
Fargo Airport was shut at noon on the same day to accommodate the Navy's Blue Angels practice.
Apparently unaware of this when leaving Las Vegas, the pilot continued to fly to the destination despite the fact they would arrive after the airport had shut.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the pilot told the control tower he didn't have enough fuel to fly to another airport.
As can be heard on the recording, the pilot asks to land at Fargo before being told the next space won't be available for another 20 minutes. He can be heard saying: "I don't have 20 minutes."
Adding: "We're on bingo fuel here in about probably three to four minutes. We've got to come in and land."
'Bingo fuel' is a military phrase used to describe a situation when an aircraft doesn't have enough fuel to do anything but land.
The pilot was then given the option of flying 70 miles north to the next airport but fuel levels were so low that wasn't possible.
Given the severity of the situation the pilot was then forced to declare an emergency landing.
It has been reported that the plan safely came in to land just after 1pm that day.
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