US plane carrying NBA players left with dented nose after mid-air collision

A US plane landed safely after sustaining significant damage during what looks like a mid-air collision on October 28. The Boeing 757-200 was carrying a US basketball team – Oklahoma City Thunder – when it was hit by an object during the flight. The collision left a huge dent in the nose of the jet. According to The Independent, the team had been travelling from Minneapolis to Chicago, where they were due to play the Bulls the following day. To the utter shock of the players, they found a large crater on the nose of the plane when they disembarked. The Kiwi NBA player Steven Adams posted a picture on Twitter of the damaged jet, saying: "We had a rough flight to say the least."

Hey @NASA @neiltyson @BillNyeWe had a rough flight to say the least.

30000 feet in the air. Flying to chicago. What caused this? pic.twitter.com/uEVrEm7noi— Steven Adams (@RealStevenAdams) October 28, 2017

He tweeted the picture to Nasa, American TV scientist Bill Nye and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, asking them “to solve the mystery of what could have caused the damage.” Another player, Josh Huestis, also posted an image of the jet, saying: "I guess we hit something? 30,000 feet....."

I guess we hit something? 30,000 feet up... pic.twitter.com/Rem9GmwRKq

— Josh Huestis (@jhuestis) October 28, 2017

Whereas another player, Carmelo Anthony, reassured fans on Instagram that everyone on board the plane was safe.

What possibly could we have hit in the SKY at this time of night? Everyone is Safe, Though. “All Praise Due” #ThunderStrong

A post shared by Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) on Oct 27, 2017 at 11:12pm PDT

"What possibly could we have hit in the Sky at this time of night?" he said. The NBA player Patrick Patterson joking said they had "accidentally hit Superman while flying." Delta Airlines later confirmed the incident and said no passengers and staff were hurt, reports The Independent. One of their spokesmen said the plane "likely encountered a bird while on descent into Chicago."