Basketball Team's Charter Plane Hit By Object En Route to Chicago
On Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost a close 119-116 game in Minneapolis to the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the team could have lost significantly more in the air later that night on the way to Chicago.
The team's Boeing 757-200 charter flight operating as Delta #8935 was struck mid-air by an yet-to-be-identified object, leaving a significant dent in the nose of the aircraft. 10-time All Star Carmelo Anthony took to Instagram to post this shocking photo of the front of the aircraft upon arrival at Chicago's Midway (MDW):
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bax_0AaAqn7/
Teammate Josh Huestis posted a photo of the damage from the side on Twitter:
An expert on bird strikes told The Points Guy that the massive dent is much larger than a vast majority of bird strikes. The lack of blood, feathers or other physical markings makes it even more peculiar. While the most likely explanation is still a bird strike, this would be unlike other nose-cone bird strikes.
If it wasn't a bird, what could it have been? The internet took to trying to figure out this mystery. One commenter suspects a errant basketball shot:
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the 28-year old aircraft (registration N650DL) was scheduled to fly from Chicago's Midway (MDW) to Milwaukee (MKE) overnight on Saturday. However, the aircraft still hasn't left Midway since the incident.
Requests for comment or further information weren't immediately answered by Delta. The media officer on duty midday Saturday was unaware of any situation involving one of the airline's planes.