Duke basketball team’s plane diverted after loss to Kansas. Where it went, and why
Seeing a lead disappear late in a 69-64 loss to Kansas late Tuesday night was just the start of a tough night for Duke’s men’s basketball team.
The Blue Devils’ middle-of-the-night chartered flight home from Indianapolis to RDU International was diverted to Knoxville, Tennessee, due to fog. The Blue Devils stayed in Knoxville for a little more than four hours before finally arriving safely home at RDU at 10:26 a.m. Wednesday.
The Blue Devils played Kansas as part of the Champions Classic doubleheader at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Duke-Kansas game was the second game of the night and its start was delayed until 10:25 p.m. due to Michigan State needing double-overtime to beat Kentucky, 86-77, in the opener.
Following the game and the post-game news conference, Duke’s traveling party headed to Indianapolis airport where its Airbus A320 plane carrying the team, support staff and other university officials, including athletics director Nina King, left Indianapolis at 2:04 a.m. for a scheduled flight of about an hour to RDU.
At 3:13 a.m., the plane made a landing approach at RDU, dropping to 600 feet at one point, before climbing back back to 3,600 feet in two minutes time. From there, the plane circled around Raleigh and headed west to Knoxville, where it landed at 4:15 a.m.
Due to thick fog that blanketed North Carolina overnight, Knoxville was determined to be the closest airport the plane could safely land.
Once there, the traveling party remained on the plane the entire time, according to a team spokesman, who was on the flight. The players were fed pizza before leaving Indianapolis and extra pizzas, snacks and soft drinks were brought on board for the trip.
Another issue arose in Knoxville, though: The flight crew had maxed out its hours and was unable to legally continue working the flight. Delta flew a fresh crew to Knoxville, but that further delayed the trip. A Bojangles breakfast was delivered to the plane on the tarmac.
The fresh flight crew arrived and the plane left Knoxville at 9:33 a.m. Wednesday.
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Duke basketball team’s plane diverted after loss to Kansas. Where it went, and why."