The Utah Jazz ran into issues on Tuesday while departing Salt Lake City. The team’s plane had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off. The flight struck a flock of birds, shutting down the left engine and bringing the trip to an early end.
According to Fox 13, Delta flight 8944’s pilot was able to make an emergency landing back at Salt Lake City International without any incident. There were no injuries reported after the incident. The Boeing 757 was supposed to take the Utah Jazz to Memphis, Tennessee, for a Wednesday night matchup with the Grizzlies. Delta said they were working to find another plane for the team to use for the trip.
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#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
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
โ Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 30, 2021
“It’s a beautiful day!” Jazz player Rudy Gobert tweeted on Tuesday. He was one of the many team members expressing gratitude after the emergency landing. Mike Conley, a former member of the Grizzlies, tweeted out the raised hands emoji while Royce O’Neale said that “God is good.”
“As the aircraft was taking off it hit a flock of birds,” a Delta statement said. “The left engine was shut down, the pilot declared an emergency in return to Salt Lake International Airport. [The] Aircraft landed without incident and was able to taxi back. Delta Airlines is working on finding another aircraft to get their customers to their destinations.” The statement did not name the Jazz, but a team spokesperson confirmed that the charter plane had landed safely.
The Grizzlies and Jazz faced off twice in the past few days, with both games taking place in Utah. The home team won both matchups and then easily defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Now the Jazz will try to go 3-0 against the Grizzlies during Wednesday’s game. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET.
The Jazz currently have the best record in the NBA at 35-11 and sit in first place in Western Conference. The Suns are in second place with a 31-14 record while the Clippers sit in third place with a 32-16 record. The Lakers (30-17) and the Nuggets (28-18) round out the top five in the west.
