No injuries after Delta plane carrying the Carolina Panthers went off CLT taxiway Friday
A Delta charter plane with 188 people onboard landed normally Friday morning at Charlotte’s airport before part of the aircraft went off the taxiway, the airline confirmed. The plane was carrying Carolina Panthers players and staff, the team confirmed to The Charlotte Observer.
“The right main gear of Delta 8860 exited the taxiway” just before 3 a.m. Friday following a normal landing, Delta told The Charlotte Observer. The taxiway is the part of the airport that planes travel on between the runway and the gate, and the gear that went off the taxiway included tires of the 767-300 aircraft.
Emergency crews responded to the plane, which “left the pavement while taxiing to Wilson Air Center,” Charlotte Douglas said in a statement to the Observer. Airfield lighting and the taxiway was fully operational.
Delta towed the aircraft off the area shortly after 5:30 a.m., the airport said. Crews repaired the area and the taxiway reopened at approximately 6:30 a.m.
Delta said there were no injuries to any of the 188 passengers, who were bused to the terminal after they got off the plane.
The aircraft had gotten stuck in the mud, WBTV reported. Delta said the plane was moved back onto the taxiway after the passengers got out.
Delta flight 8860 originated departed Providence Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport at 12:45 a.m. Friday, an hour late, reported FlightAware, an online website providing real-time information. That was one of 34 flights delayed by 7:30 a.m. at the airport.
It landed at CLT at 2:42 a.m., some 46 minutes late, FlightAware reported.
The Panthers played a preseason game Thursday night against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium near Boston.
The incident happened a day after Tropical Storm Debby dumped a record rainfall on Charlotte. Charlotte’s airport logged 4.09 inches of rain, breaking the previous record of 1.37 inches for Aug. 8 set in 1928, the National Weather Service said.
The Panthers flight was among the more than 4,500 Charlotte flights that were either delayed or canceled in the past week as the storm made its way up the coast and through the Carolinas.
