OKC Thunder plane lands with damage

CHICAGO (AFP) — Russell Westbrook said he thanked “the man above” after seeing mysterious damage to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s plane when the team landed in Chicago on Saturday.

“Thankful,” Westbrook told reporters of his feelings upon seeing the nose of the jet that had brought them from Minnesota caved in.

“You know, you don’t every take anything for granted,” the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player told reporters as the team prepared to take on the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. “It was one of those moments where you bow your head and pray and thank the man above for allowing the plane to land the way it did.”

Dramatic images posted by Thunder players on social media showed the damage and several players wanted answers.

“We had a rough flight to say the least,” New Zealand star Steven Adams said in a Tweet addressed to NASA, prominent astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson and scientist Bill Nye.

“30,000 feet in the air. Flying to Chicago. What caused this?” Adams wrote above an image of the damaged plane.

Carmelo Anthony was similarly concerned, posting the same image of the plane’s badly dented nose.

“What possibly could we have hit in the SKY at this time of night? Everyone is safe, though,” Anthony wrote.

Westbrook said he felt “thankful and blessed” that the plane landed safely.

“Stuff like that just shows you how to cherish life,” he said.

Delta airlines, which operated the charter flight from Minneapolis to Chicago, told The Oklahoman Newspaper that the flight “likely encountered a bird while on descent into Chicago.”