MANILA, Philippines — A charter flight carrying NBA team Utah Jazz was forced to re-route and make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City shortly following takeoff Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday, Manila time) after striking a flock of birds which caused an engine fire and failure.
The Jazz, including Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, were en route to Memphis, Tennessee for their road game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila) when the plane was forced to return to Salt Lake City International Airport roughly 25 minutes after takeoff.
Fox 13's Brian Schnee posted photos of what the plane looked like when it landed, with visible damage to the engine.
The plane ?? pic.twitter.com/3iHipo9PTB
— ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? (@brian_schnee) March 30, 2021
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, players "heard a loud bang and saw a flash" from the plane's left engine.
Following the incident, the players and team personnel reportedly went home and waited for a new plane.
The players and team personnel have all gone home and are awaiting a new plane.
— Andrea Urban (@AndreaUrbanTV) March 30, 2021
A few hours later, the team boarded a new plane bound for Memphis.