Jazz players feared 'this might really be the end' after plane hit birds Cindy Boren, The Washington Post April 1, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail NBA players, like athletes everywhere, are as accustomed to flying to games as most people are to hopping into a car for a daily commute. But Utah Jazz players were confronted Tuesday night with the possibility of disaster. Their plane had just taken off from Salt Lake City, destined for a routine trip to Memphis, when it struck a flock of birds, causing a fire in one of the chartered Boeing 757-200's engines, and had to make an immediate, emergency return to the airport. Mike Conley said "it felt like the plane was breaking apart in midair," and the team described players as "shaken" by the experience.