Utah Jazz plane hits flock of birds, forced to make emergency landing en route to Grizzlies game
No injuries were reported
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1 min read
On Tuesday, a plane bringing the Utah Jazz to an away game was forced to make an emergency landing due to a bird strike. As the Delta Boeing 757 was taking off from Salt Lake City International Airport it hit a bird and the left engine was shut down, grounding the plane and the passengers on the flight, who happened to be an NBA team.
There have not been any injuries reported and the emergency landing was done so safely, according to reports. A Delta spokesperson told FOX 13 it was flight 8944 involved in the bird strike and the team confirmed it was their players aboard.
#DL8944, Salt Lake City-Memphis, returned to SLC shortly after takeoff with what appears to be a left engine issue. Playback is available at https://t.co/jIv9JWMHAZ
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 30, 2021
This Boeing 757-200 is powered by PW2037 engines. It's one of the dedicated charter 757s in Delta's fleet. https://t.co/cgtoTb2Eb8
The plane was headed to Memphis, Tennessee for Utah's upcoming game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. There is no word yet on when the team will be able to make it to their destination, but Delta says they are working on finding them a plane to bring them to their game.
The plane originally used for the trip was a dedicated charter.
It appears several Jazz players tweeted after landing safely, thankful they were able to successfully make the emergency landing.
🙏🏾
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) March 30, 2021
GOD is good 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Royce O'Neale (@BucketsONeale00) March 30, 2021
It’s a beautiful day!
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) March 30, 2021
The Jazz are currently first in the Western Conference with a 35-11 record. They are on a six-game win streak, with their last loss coming against the Washington Wizards on March 18.
