Thankfully everyone is okay!
The incident occurred on Friday in Los Angeles as Gonzaga’s airplane (a chartered Embraer E135 jet) had just landed in LAX. In the video, you can see a Delta plane taking off and almost hitting the jet carrying all the Zags on the ground. What’s even scarier is that you can hear the air traffic controller screaming “Stop!” multiple times.
NEW: The FAA has launched an investigation after the men’s Gonzaga basketball team nearly got eliminated by a Delta plane taking off.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” the air traffic controller could be heard saying.
The chartered Embraer E135 jet, carrying the team, had just landed at… pic.twitter.com/6UAUOG5wiP
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 30, 2024
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the situation to see how this could have almost happened. Gonzaga had to go and then play against UCLA which resulted in a 65-62 loss. Basketball would be the last thing on their mind after going through something like that.
Air travel is going to be a bit tougher for these young players going forward. Assuming they didn’t take a flight to Malibu, the Zags travelled to Pepperdine to take on the Waves on Monday, December 30th at 7 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho