The Jazz’s Plane Had To Turn Around After Apparently Hitting Birds During Takeoff

The Utah Jazz are scheduled to play in Memphis on Wednesday, but their arrival is going to be a bit later than initially planned. The Jazz’s team charter was set to leave Salt Lake City for Memphis on Tuesday afternoon, but their plane had to turn around shortly after takeoff and land back in Salt Lake due to an engine issue.

That it was indeed the Jazz’s charter plane was confirmed, with reporting that the plane hit some birds on takeoff, causing the engine problem and forcing the plane to turn around and land again.

Happily, it seems the plane was able to safely land and the players on board seemed very happy to be back on ground after their scare, with a number posting to Twitter with simple messages of relief.

https://twitter.com/JordanClarksons/status/1376993583589253120

Hopefully the Jazz will get a new charter plane soon and be able to make it to Memphis later this evening with no further excitement, if you will. The team was sent home while they get a new plane.

https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba/status/1377001953176129538

There are few things scarier than being on a plane when anything goes wrong, and it’s good to know this wasn’t so serious that it required anything more than turning around and returning to the safety of the tarmac for repairs.