A private jet that blew two tires during takeoff at a small New Jersey airport on Tuesday made a safe emergency landing hours later at an airport in New York.
Fans of rapper Post Malone had gathered at New York Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, about 70 miles north of New York City, after hearing he was on board, and they cheered when the plane landed just before 4 p.m. TMZ reported that Malone, who had performed with Aerosmith on Monday night at MTV’s VMAs, was on board. But there was no confirmation he was in fact on the plane until he tweeted after it landed that he was safe and thanked fans for their support.
“I landed guys. Thank you for your prayers,” he wrote. “Can’t believe how many people wished death on me on this website. Fuck you. But not today.”
The troubled Gulfstream IV was en route from Teterboro to London Luton Airport in Luton, England, when the pilot realized shortly after takeoff that the tires had blown. The pilot began circling the airport for about 30 minutes before the jet was diverted.
The plane originally was to attempt an emergency landing at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Massachusetts, said Eric Billowitz, the airport’s manager.
A small group of the curious and fans who had heard Malone was on the plane gathered at the airport in Westfield, hoping to watch the landing.
“We came down because he had the biggest day of his life yesterday and we wanted to make sure he is safe,” said Jessica Kielb, of Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Billowitz said he was told the plane was first headed to the airport because there is a Gulfstream service center there and because the airport has “one of the longest runways in the Northeast” at 9,000 feet, but the plane was then diverted to Stewart.
Stewart’s signature feature is a nearly 12,000-foot runway, long enough to handle the fat-bodied C-5A Galaxy planes laden with supplies and better for such emergencies.
More Malone fans started arriving at Stewart airport later Tuesday.
Malone was scheduled to perform at the Reading and Leeds festivals in England over the weekend, according to his website’s tour schedule.
The face-tattooed singer-rapper took home song of the year honors at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday night in New York for his hit “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage. The song is from his latest album, Beerbongs & Bentleys.
The plane had 16 people on board when it left Teterboro Airport around 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, but didn’t specify if the number of people aboard included the pilot.
