Bones Hyland was convinced his days were over.
The NBA guard took to Twitter on Wednesday to recall a scary moment during a Delta Air Lines charter flight. According to ESPN, the incident took place Feb. 25, when the Los Angeles Clippers were traveling to Colorado to take on the Denver Nuggets. Just seconds after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, the plane reportedly veered toward the left above the Pacific Ocean, and then began to rattle and shake before a loud bang was heard.
Staffers told reporter Ohm Youngmisuk they saw a flash of light on the right side of the plane as the engine went briefly silent “before roaring back to life and filling the cabin with thunderous revving.”
“Ngl we thought it was over wit,” Bones tweeted in response to the ESPN piece.
ESPN writes that several Clippers players were napping at the time of takeoff, but were immediately awoken by the noise and turbulence. According to the outlet, the aircraft “dropped in altitude several times,” prompting shouts from passengers. Those who were on the plane told ESPN it was “one of the worst moments they’ve experienced on a flight.”
“Us players, we’re trying to nap away,” guard Eric Gordon said, adding it was the “second-worst flight” he’s experienced in his NBA career. “Oh, everybody was up after that for sure.”
The Clippers managed to land safely in Denver ahead of their Feb. 26 game. However, once they exited the plane, the players noticed some tail damage, which confirmed the aircraft had been struck by lightning.
“Our luck was so bad, we even got struck by lightning,” Clippers coach Ty Lue told ESPN, referring to the team’s post All-Star break performance.
The Clippers ended up losing to the Nuggets on Feb. 26, marking the second of five consecutive losses. They managed to turn their luck around this month and secured three consecutive victories, the latest of which was their 106-95 win against the New York Knicks. They’ll try to secure a fourth W tonight at the Crypto.com Arena, where they’ll go head-to-head with the Golden State Warriors.
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