OKC Thunder charter plane hit something at 30,000 feet

The OKC Thunder arrived in Chicago safely, but upon departing the plane learned they were lucky to arrive.

As I sat here writing and editing in the wee hours of the morning as I’m want to do my phone began blowing up with tweets from the OKC Thunder beat writers, players and others. Since it was shortly after 2:00 a.m. Eastern it struck me as odd. I picked up my phone and saw this:

That’s the front of the OKC Thunder plane for anyone wondering. What followed was a series of tweets and pictures from the people who were on the plane.

It’s said air travel is extremely safe, especially with the technology that exists today.  Still, with sports teams traveling half their season it is surprising something of this nature doesn’t occur more often.  For some reason the picture immediately made me think of Royce White whose career was cut short before it started because of his fear of flying.

That thought then sprang into I wonder how something like this will affect the players. As per Carmelo Anthony’s instagram post obviously everyone is grateful and thanking God they did arrive safe and sound.

Patrick Patterson offered the levity on the situation I’m sure so the players and travelers (and family and friends who saw the pictures) could ease their stress.

Many are trying to figure out what could have caused the massive dent in the plane. Certainly it wasn’t a flock of birds – they don’t fly at 30,000 feet. One twitter enthusiast offered it might have been turbulence, but even that seems far reaching. Perhaps it’s not as inconceivable as I imagine because of the speed an airplane is moving at.

Still, it’s a stark reminder of how precious life is and how fortunate the team and everyone on the plane was to reach Chicago. To that end,  it’s fitting to reiterate Carmelo Anthony’s words

"Everyone is Safe, Though.“All Praise Due”#ThunderStrong"

Thunderous Intentions sends their prayers out in thanks for the safe landing and everyone being okay.