Green Bay, United States: The Minnesota Vikings had to exit their aircraft using a fire department extension ladder on Friday after their airplane skidded off the runway at Appleton International Airport.
The Vikings’ plane slipped off the runway on a snowy night while taxiing and landed safely on the grass following the one hour flight.
No one was injured in the incident but players, coaches and team officials were stuck for several hours before fire officials at the scene used a firetruck’s extension ladder to help the team off the aircraft.
“We wanted to make sure the players were as safe as possible in deplaning,” airport spokesman Abe Webber said.
The Vikings are in Wisconsin for their NFL game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The airport did not have portable stairs and boarding bridges could not be used because the plane was too far from the terminal.
American sports broadcaster ESPN reported that the plane landed relatively fine before skidding.
“We didn’t even slide 10 feet,” a source told ESPN.
New York Jets coach Todd Bowles did not travel with the NFL team to Foxborough, Massachusetts after being hospitalised with an unspecified injury, the Jets announced on Friday.
Bowles is listed in stable condition, although his availability to be on the sideline for Saturday’s game against the AFC East rival New England Patriots is uncertain.
Should the 53-year-old Bowles miss the game, assistant coach Mike Caldwell will take over the head-coaching duties.
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan visited Bowles in the hospital while Caldwell ran the team practice Friday.
