Reborn Christian actor and returning member of New Kids On The Block Donnie Wahlberg shared details of a frightening experience he encountered at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport. After a show finished with his group, Wahlberg was on a plane taking off that struggled to get airborne and had to make an emergency landing at the end of the runway, eventually coming to a stop at a perimeter fence.
Wahlberg praised the piloting crew for preventing a more serious disaster; everyone was able to get off the plane and Wahlberg even posted a short video to social media to get ahead of the story and let everyone know he was okay. The incident happened October 18th, shortly after the final act of the New Kids’ residency wrapped up.
Getting a lot of concerned messages and texts about my flight’s failed attempt at leaving Las Vegas this morning. Thank you to all!” Wahlberg wrote on Instagram. “I appreciate your concern and well wishes. I made this video for my friends and family, after the incident, but so many of you all are my family too so I figured I’d share with you. Yes, it was me and my team/friends onboard the aircraft. It was a rather intense few moments (which felt like a few long minutes).”
“Thankful to God, of course, and to our incredible pilots who did an amazing job of keeping us safe and avoiding a serious disaster. The airplane did take some lumps — but we did not. Thank you to all the emergency personnel on the ground in Las Vegas! You all were absolutely wonderful. All glory to God! By His grace, we are all ok,” the post finished.
Wahlberg also shared a short video recapping the ordeal, narrating the moment from departure where he said the pl;ane struggled to get airborne and returned to the ground. “We’re taking off and didn’t get up in the air and ran out of runway,” he said, potentially indicating an engine with partial power loss or an overloaded plane. An investigation will determine the actual cause of the incident.
“Donny Wahlberg is recounting a terrifying incident. The New Kids on the Block member shared on his Instagram stories October 18th how he’s doing after the private jet he was on skidded off the runway at a Las Vegas airport,” the video continued, as reported by E! News.
“Wahlberg’s narration then came back in. “We’re all okay. I’m okay. We were taking off and didn’t get up in the air, and ran out of runway…The runway is way over there. I’m just going to tell you these pilots saved our lives, and God covered us because we were. I’m not sure how many fences we avoided, but we didn’t avoid the last one. 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.
After the terrifying few minutes, Wahlberg shared the video to reassure his loved ones that he was okay. In the aftermath, he made sure to credit the quick thinking of the pilots for getting the jet safely back on the ground without further issue, and likewise credited his faith in God for protecting him during everything.
Watch Wahlberg speak about the airplane incident in Las Vegas below:
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video