The team plane for the Michigan Wolverines basketball team was involved in an accident on Wednesday after high winds caused problems.
As if a lot of people don’t already have fears of flying, this won’t do much to ease their feelings. The plane belonging to the Michigan men’s basketball team was involved in an accident on Wednesday, thanks to high winds causing it to skid off the runway.
The team was headed to Washington, D.C., from Willow Run Airport to play in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. First-round play opens up on Thursday, as the Wolverines are set to face Illinois at the Verizon Center. But Mother Nature apparently had other plans.
High winds in the area caused the plane to skid off the runway during an aborted takeoff. As you can see below, the plane came to a stop over a ditch area and suffered some damage.
The university took to their Twitter page to confirm that everyone was safe, and they are making alternate travel arrangements. Even through this mishap, they are still on the schedule for Thursday’s meeting with Illinois.
Michigan finished the regular season 20-11 and placed seventh in the Big Ten. Their meeting on Thursday has them as the No. 8 seed, with Illinois as No. 9. The winner of this game will go on to face four-seed Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. That game will be played on Friday.
Thankfully, as noted, nobody was seriously injured in Wednesday’s accident. But they will definitely be ready for tip-off on Thursday.