The Utah Jazz's flight to Memphis could have ended in tragedy

The Utah Jazz's flight to Memphis for their game against the Grizzlies could have ended in a tragedy as their plane struck a flock of birds just minutes after take-off from the Salt Lake City airport.

Their accident caused a damage to the left engine of the aircraft, which had to make an emergency landing at the same airport.

The plane landed without any further incident and the Jazz took another flight to Memphis, with Donovan Mitchell deciding to stay in Salt Lake City after the incident.

The Jazz stressed that his decision was due to "personal reasons", yet Mitchell has already revealed his fear of flying on several occasions.

"For a good 10 or 15 minutes, I think all of us on that flight were questioning if we were going to be here today," said Jazz point guard Mike Conley.

"That's how serious it was for us. I can't speak for everybody, but I know that guys were trying to text family just in case, you know? It was that kind of situation."

Despite the scare, the Utah Jazz managed to beat the Grizzlies 107-111, with Conley scoring 26 points.