Pilot with three minutes of fuel left told he can't land because airport is 'closed'

LAS VEGAS - SEPTEMBER 6: An Allegiant Air jet carrying members of the New Orleans Fire Department comes in for a landing at McCarran International Airport on September 6, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. T

A shocking recording has emerged of a passenger plane pilot with just three minutes of fuel being told that he can't land at an airport because the runway was closed.

Allegiant Air flight 426 was circling Fargo's Hector International Airport in North Dakota requesting permission to land, but was notified that the airport was out of service as the Navy's Blue Angels were practising for a forthcoming air show.

However, the pilot then told ground officials that he didn't have any "fuel to go anywhere else" when it was recommended he fly to an airport 70 miles away.

Chillingly, when the pilot was told the runway would be 'clear in 20 minutes,' he responded that he would have 'bingo fuel in about three to four minutes'. That phrase is often used by military pilots when they only have enough fuel to land the aircraft.

A spokesperson for Allegiant Air told MailOnline Travel: 'Flight 426 with scheduled service from LAS to FAR on July 23, 2015 declared a fuel emergency upon arrival at Hector International Airport (FAR) and subsequently landed safely.

'At this time, we are coordinating with the FAA and the airport to investigate all channels of communication regarding the flight and the circumstances leading to the declaration of emergency.'

In the recording to the control tower, reported by airlive.net, the pilot of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 said: 'We don't have enough fuel to go anywhere else.

'And our guys are trying to get in touch with the tower manager right now to coordinate our landing or I'm going to have to declare an emergency and come in and land.'

The ground control then give the pilot another number to call to request permission, before saying that there will be 'a window opening in 20 minutes for landing.'

After telling the ground that they 'didn't have 20 minutes,' he notified of his intention to 'come in and land.'

The tower told the pilot the only way he could get permission to land at the closed airport was to contact the Minneapolis air traffic center to declare an emergency.

The pilot then said he would 'give them two to three minutes,' to sort the issue out.

The speaker on the ground then says to the pilot that 'the company should have been aware of that for a number of months, to which the pilot replies: 'Okay. Yeah. It's just, er, we'll follow up on that.'

The plane made an emergency landing, and all the passengers were reported to be safe. The flight had set out for Las Vegas around an hour late, which meant it had missed it's landing slot in Fargo.

- Daily Mail