While on his way to visit a friend with cancer in Miami, Georgia men’s basketball coach Mark Fox nearly found himself in a plane accident Wednesday morning.
Fox was on his way from Atlanta to visit Miami Heat assistant Keith Smart when the plane Fox was riding in nearly hit another on the runway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
ESPN’s Jeff Goodman spoke with Fox following Wednesday’s flight mishap. Fox said the plane was nearly ready to take off when the pilot had to slam on the brakes. Delta Airlines later explained the incident as an “administrative mistake” by air traffic controllers.
“We were running full throttle, getting ready to take off,” Fox told ESPN on Wednesday. “And the pilot slammed on the brakes.”
Charlotte Observer sports writer Scott Fowler was on Fox’s flight and wrote about his experience during the incident. Both Fowler and Fox downplayed the severity of the incident, saying that no one was injured during the incident.
“I was fine,” Fox said. “It was just unusual. The pilot did a great job. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Sorry, Mark. Two planes nearly hitting each other at a major airport is a pretty big deal.
The flight from Atlanta to Miami took off a little after noon, nearly two hours after its scheduled departure time. Fox made it to Miami to visit Smart, who is battling a rare form of skin cancer. Their relationship dates back to mid-1980s.
The time spent between Fox and Smart will likely be limited Wednesday. The team Smart works for, the Heat, play a crucial Game 5 against the Charlotte Hornets at 8 p.m.
[ESPN]
