‘These pilots saved our lives’: Donnie Wahlberg recounts plane skidding off runway, hitting fence
“I’m just going to tell you these pilots saved our lives. And God covered us.”
LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) – Actor Donnie Wahlberg said he was aboard a plane that skidded off the runway and hit a fence at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport over the weekend.
Around 11 a.m. local time Sunday, an aircraft skidded off runway 1L at the airport, making contact with the perimeter fence, the airport said in a social media post . A ground stop was put in place for the airport for several hours.
Wahlberg, who starred in “Boston Blue,” has since revealed he and his team and friends were on that plane.
“I’m OK,” he said in a video posted to Instagram, and seemingly filmed at the airport right after the incident.
“Getting a lot of concerned messages and texts about my [flight’s] failed attempt at leaving Las Vegas this morning,” Wahlberg wrote in the accompanying caption.
In the video, the actor said the plane was preparing to take off but “didn’t get up in the air and ran out of runway.”
“I’m just going to tell you these pilots saved our lives. And God covered us,” he added.
The “New Kids on the Block” member added that the aircraft avoided several fences before ultimately hitting one, but the plane was able to avoid “heavy” airport equipment and vehicles.
In the video, Wahlberg can be seen in front of the plane, which appears to have a wing caught in a fence. On the opposite side is construction equipment and a dumpster. Emergency crews can be seen behind him.
“We just finished praying, and I looked out the window and said, ‘We are not getting up in the air today.’ But we’re safe and thankful and all is well,” he continued.
Wahlberg’s caption on Instagram explained that he originally made the video for his friends and family but decided to share it with the public.
“Thankful to God, of course, and to our incredible pilots who did an amazing job of keeping us safe and avoiding a serious disaster,” he said. “The airplane did take some lumps — but we did not.”
Wahlberg concluded by thanking the emergency personnel on the ground at Harry Reid International, saying they were all “absolutely wonderful.”
The Federal Aviation Administration told People that the plane had eight people on board “when the pilot aborted the takeoff and went off the runway.”
The airport said there were no known injuries caused by the incident. No additional details have been released at this time.
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