Jazz Flight To Memphis Rescheduled After Bird Strike

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will fly to Memphis tonight after an earlier flight returned to Salt Lake International Airport after a bird strike grounded the plane.

According to flight radar, the team’s plane originally left the ground at 1:15 pm but returned to the Sal Lake Aiport after a bird strike damaged one of the plane’s engines.

Nobody on board the flight was injured, and the plane landed safely at 1:31 pm.

Footage from KSLTV’s Morgan Wolfe shows the damage the plane incurred from the strike.

Yikes!

Look at the damage to the plane carrying the Jazz. So happy they landed safely! pic.twitter.com/fpjiSBY1nT

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) March 30, 2021

According to the Delta Flight Tracker, the Jazz plane is scheduled to depart at 7:35 pm MT and land in Memphis just before 11:30 pm CT.

Photos from KSL’s Chopper 5 showed the plane back on the tarmac at the Salt Lake Airport with what appears to be damage to one of the plane’s engines.

Several members of the team took to social media to show their gratitude after the safe landing.

“It’s a beautiful day!” All-Star center Rudy Gobert tweeted.

A charter flight carrying the @utahjazz to face the Memphis Grizzlies returned to @slcairport after experiencing engine problems. #Takenote https://t.co/R5xsMw2gWW

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 30, 2021

The Jazz are scheduled to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at 6 pm MT. The Jazz swept a weekend series with the Grizzlies on back-to-back nights before beating the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.

After Monday’s win, the Jazz share the league’s longest winning streak with the Los Angeles Clippers at six games. The team owns the best record in the NBA at 35-11.