A Delta 757 carrying the Utah Jazz basketball team had to make an emergency landing Tuesday at the Salt Lake City Airport after the aircraft flew into a flock of birds, according to several reports.
The Jazz are scheduled to compete against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Wednesday, and it’s presumed the team was headed there as the Delta flight leveled off at about 8,200 feet before returning to the airport.
Based on @flightradar24 data, Delta 8944 leveled off at about 8,200 feet after taking off from runway 35, headed south across the valley, and configured for a landing back on runway 34L. pic.twitter.com/aOk89KzGA6
— Sean Moody (@SeanMoodyPhoto) March 30, 2021
FOX 13 Utah reported that the team’s charter flight had to make an emergency landing. The initial report from FlightRadar24, which is a Twitter account, indicated the plane had a left engine issue. However, Fox 13′s Andrea Urban reported the plane hit something during takeoff.
“I can confirm that this is the Utah Jazz team charter flight,” Urban tweeted. “The plane hit birds during takeoff resulting in an engine problem and immediate landing.”
The Utah Jazz confirmed it is the team’s chartered plane.
Confirmed: this was the @utahjazz plane https://t.co/aJ4kEF0sMi
— Sean Moody (@SeanMoodyPhoto) March 30, 2021
The plane had some damage after hitting the birds.
The damage after a Delta charter carrying the @utahjazz struck a flock of birds mid-air today. The plane turned around and made an emergency landing at @slcairport. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/h7IyL5usmL
— Marc Sternfield (@msternfield) March 30, 2021
This story is developing.
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