CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – The Carolina Panthers were among those who got off a flight in Charlotte Friday morning after part of the plane became stuck in mud, federal officials report.
On Friday, August 9, passengers on a Delta flight exited the plane around 2:40 a.m. after it veered off the tarmac at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Sources confirmed to WBTV that the plane was carrying Carolina Panthers players and coaches.
Delta initially reported that the plane’s right landing gear came off the runway after a normal landing in Charlotte. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported on Friday afternoon that the Boeing plane’s right landing gear “got stuck in the mud.”
Authorities said no one was injured in the incident.
All 188 passengers from Providence, Rhode Island, disembarked the plane on the tarmac in Charlotte and were bused to the terminal, Delta said. The Panthers were returning home after losing 17-3 to the New England Patriots in their season opener on Thursday.
After the passengers had disembarked the aircraft, the crew brought the plane back to the runway and taxied it away. The whole incident reportedly lasted about three hours.
“Delta towed the aircraft from the runway shortly after 5:30 a.m. Crews repaired the area and the runway was reopened around 6:30 a.m.,” an airport spokesman said.
It was not immediately clear why the plane’s landing gear became stuck. Charlotte Airport officials said the airfield lighting and runway were fully operational at the time of the incident.
The FAA plans to investigate the situation.
The incident came just hours after several flight attendants were injured during turbulence on a flight from Tampa Bay, Florida, to Charlotte. Four American Airlines flight attendants were hospitalized Thursday evening after the plane landed.
According to official information, unexpected turbulence occurred on the flight. None of the passengers on this flight were injured.
Air traffic in and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport was largely back to normal Friday after several days of delays and cancellations caused by Tropical Depression Debby. As Debby moved through the Carolinas as a tropical storm on Thursday, August 8, hundreds of delays and cancellations were reported at the Charlotte airport.
Flight delays in Charlotte were at times the worst of any U.S. airport on Thursday. Delays and cancellations continued to plague the airport on Friday. According to FlightAware, more than 190 delays and over 20 cancellations had been reported as of 2 p.m. in the wake of Debby.
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