After returning from the New England area early Friday morning following a preseason game, the aircraft the Carolina Panthers were traveling on slid off a taxiway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
All passengers (188) are reportedly safe with no injuries, and the plane slid off after it had landed and exited the runway, going off-course on a taxiway. Its landing gear got stuck in the mud, according to NBC affiliate in Charlotte WCNC. The FAA is expected to investigate, and Delta apologized for the inconvenience.
The news was first reported by Julian Sadur of Queen City News.
Sources confirm Panthers players and personnel were on the Delta Airlines flight that went off the runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. @Queen_City_News pic.twitter.com/iXany8ysrq
— Julian Sadur (@JulianSadurTV) August 9, 2024
The flight departed the Providence airport at 12:45 a.m. and arrived in Charlotte at 2:41 a.m. It landed on runway 36R and turned to taxi on taxiway M. Flight tracking data—which could be slightly inaccurate—appears to show the plane going off-course as it attempted to turn from taxiway M to D.
The aircraft was a Boeing 767-332 operated by Delta Airlines as flight number DL8860, a number normally indicative of a charter flight, not a commercially ticketed flight. The aircraft has been in service since 1992, and previously had two hydraulic failures (2016 in Madrid, 2018 in New York) and an incident with a tire bursting upon takeoff during the 2016 hydraulic incident.
Earlier on Thursday night, the aircraft flew from Atlanta to Providence to position for the flight back to Charlotte.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Panthers Flight Home From Preseason Game Went Off Taxiway, All Passengers Safe.
