Christmas weekend for the Minnesota Vikings started on a slippery slope. On Friday, Dec. 23, the NFL team’s plane slid off the landing strip leaving players, staff and coaches trapped on the plane for three hours at the Appleton International Airport.
According to the airport, the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office says the incident occurred around 6:30 p.m.
During the extensive layover, the Vikings staff used the team’s official Twitter account posting video clips and photos to ease concerns from family, friends and fans that everyone on board the flight was safe.
Appleton also used social media to notify the public of the team’s departure to safety. Additionally, Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson also updated his personal feed with tweets.
Additionally, Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson also updated his personal feed with tweets. “After hours on the [ground] the fire department came to get us! Never been on a fire truck b4 if u can’t tell. Got a little surprised. #memories,” he said.
Eventually, the team was removed from the plane in small groups by a local fire department by using a mobile stairway. The process of evacuating the passengers lasted two hours.
There were no injuries reported.
