- The plane landed shortly after 2:30 a.m. and skidded off the runway in Charlotte.
- The players were kept on the plane for more than an hour before being allowed to disembark.
Carolina Panthers players narrowly avoided serious injuries in terrifying scenes at Charlotte Douglas Airport on Friday morning when their plane veered off the runway.
The team was returning from its preseason opener against the New England Patriots; their Delta Airlines plane landed around 2:40 a.m.
Upon arrival, the plane left the taxiway, forcing emergency vehicles to rush to the scene.
At around 3:45 a.m., stairs were towed to the plane and players and staff were allowed to disembark, sparing all passengers from injury.
In a statement to local media, Delta revealed that the plane’s right-hand landing gear came off the taxiway after a normal landing.
A Delta plane similar to the one that transports Panthers players is at Charlotte Douglas Airport
Hours earlier, the Panthers had lost to the Patriots in a preseason game in New England.
The Panthers finished the game on Thursday night and flew straight back to Carolina.
There were 188 customers on board, including players and staff from the Carolina Panthers NFL team.
In the game in New England, the Panthers had lost 17-3 to start their 2024 season.
The team is hoping the scary scenes from Friday morning aren’t a sign of things to come on the field this season, as they’re coming off a terrible 2-15 year.
The Panthers have a new coach for 2024 in the form of Dave Canales and are set to start the season with Bryce Young at quarterback once again.
Their first pick in the 2024 draft was South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette at No. 22, and running back Jonathon Brooks was also a second-round pick out of Texas.