This Kentucky woman says she never wants to fly again after a "terrifying" near-miss incident aboard an Allegiant Air flight over Florida.
It was only Jerrica Thacker's second time flying. Returning home after a cruise trip with her family, the plane she was on had to make a sudden dramatic maneuver to avoid an in-air collision with a private jet shortly after taking off from South Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sunday.
Thacker, 21, told Insider on Friday that the Kentucky-bound Allegiant Air Flight 485 had only been in the air for about 20 to 30 minutes when the plane abruptly shot "straight up," causing other concerned travelers to gasp out loud and at least two flight attendants to topple over.
"It felt like a roller coaster," Thacker said, adding, "It felt like we were dropping, but I now know that we were actually going straight up in the air."
Thacker said she quickly gripped onto her seat's armrests and braced herself before the Airbus A320 finally leveled back out. She called the incident the "scariest moment" of her life.
The Federal Aviation Administration told Insider in a statement that the Allegiant Air flight was forced to take "evasive action" after the pilot got an automated alert about another aircraft heading toward it at the same altitude.
"An air traffic controller in the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center had instructed Flight 485 to turn eastbound at an altitude of 23,000 feet when it crossed in front of a northbound Gulfstream business jet," the FAA said, adding, "The pilot of the Gulfstream also took evasive action after receiving a similar alert."
The FAA confirmed that a flight attendant was injured and treated for injuries once the flight returned to Fort Lauderdale. The agency is investigating the incident.
A spokesperson for Allegiant Air declined to comment to Insider, citing the "active investigation" and instead referred Insider to the FAA.
Thacker told Insider that after the plane "stabilized," the pilot made an announcement saying, "I had to make an abrupt maneuver to avoid another aircraft," and that the plane was headed back to the airport.
Other passengers, including her family members, were seen crying and even praying, Thacker said.
Thacker's family decided to drive back to Kentucky
Once the aircraft landed, Thacker and her family decided to not get back on the plane and instead rented a car to drive 15 hours back home to Kentucky.
"We were all really shook up, like no one really wanted to fly," Thacker said.
Thacker now says that she never wants to step foot on another plane again.
"Truly all I can think is that I must have some bad luck," she said.
Thacker's flight from Kentucky to Florida just days before the incident marked the first time she ever flew on a plane.
"Some people can fly for years and years and never have any kind of encounter like this," she said. "The fact that it happened to me so early in my flying experience just tells me that flying is not meant for me."
