Allegiant Airlines Flight 864 had only been in the air for about 10 minutes, heading to Hagerstown, Maryland from St. Pete-Clearwater when passengers were alerted to a problem.
"At one point we were told there was a burning sensation and we'd return to St. Pete," said passenger Pattie Dell.
Turns out the pilots reported smoke in the cabin and quickly turned around to put the plane down safely.
Once on the ground, emergency slides deployed and passengers were rushed out.