Cleveland Browns recall terrifying plane ride, ‘lucky to be alive’
By Mike Dyce
On Sunday many NFL games were marred by bad weather and high winds. When the Cleveland Browns were flying home from Cincinnati it was supposed to be a routine flight but inclement weather made it anything but routine. Winds had grounded all commercial flights as the Browns were landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and which led to a bumpy landing and a terrified team.
“It was terrifying,” guard Jason Pinkston told Cleveland.com. “It was the real thing. The weather was so bad. We were coming in to land and (the pilot) had to go kind of fast to balance it out and we came down and we hit on two wheels. The (left) wing was literally three feet from hitting the ground.
“We’re actually pretty lucky to be alive right now, to be honest,” Pinkston added. “We really escaped one. We got away with one last night.”
Some players had a moment of clarity that you get after a brush with death. The kind of one where you realize you need to tell the people you care about that you love them afterwards.
“Everyone was freaking out,” tight end Jordan Cameron said. “I didn’t think it was that bad. There was some turbulence, but it wasn’t too serious. At least I thought so. Some guys were calling their moms after the flight.”