Everyone’s airplane nightmares recently became a reality for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The team’s charter flight was struck by lightning shortly after takeoff from LAX, and reports are saying that the plane’s engines “went silent” for a moment. The scary event took place back at the end of February when the Clippers were flying to Denver to face the Nuggets.
The tweet from NBA Central explained the close-to-disaster flight, which was originally reported by ESPN Reporter Ohm Youngmisuk:
“The plane dropped in altitude several times and shrieks could be heard from passengers in what some staffers called one of the worst moments they’ve experienced on a flight.
Shortly after the Clippers landed safely in Colorado, the team saw a mark that took some of the paint off the tail of the Delta Air Lines plane — the result of a midair lightning strike.”
Straight nightmare fuel. Hopefully you aren’t reading this article at the airport…
Thankfully the Clippers team made it safely to Denver, and though everyone on the flight knew something bad had happened, it was all but confirmed after they landed and saw the visible evidence of the lightning strike.
LA Clippers Guard Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland, who had just recently been acquired by the Clippers from the Nuggets, tweeted this in response to the report:
“Ngl we thought it was over wit”
I’m sure most of the Clippers team thought something like this would never happen, but for as much as professional athletes fly back and forth across the country, it’s actually surprising the public doesn’t hear more about stuff like this happening.
Sources cannot confirm what the “keep-to-himself” Forward Kawhi Leonard said during the scary turbulence, but it was probably something like this was no facial expression whatsoever:
Because the plane avoided disaster, the social media world has now determined that the event is indeed “meme-able.”
Most of the reactions are like the one above, poking fun at the stone-faced Kawhi Leonard. However, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get on social media:
“One of Russell Westbrooks bricks somehow hit the plane” pic.twitter.com/ECApHMVHxe
— Reborn🇸🇴 (@RebornT0wn) March 15, 2023
Kawhi at the back of the plane pic.twitter.com/LT3YhBIPd2
— nox (@noxf7m) March 15, 2023
