Donnie Wahlberg’s Las Vegas weekend took a frightening turn when his private plane skidded off the runway, leaving passengers shaken but safe. Among those onboard was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Amy Jo Johnson, who later expressed gratitude for surviving the frightening ordeal.
The actress had joined Wahlberg for New Kids on the Block’s final Las Vegas show before the unexpected aviation incident. What began as a weekend celebrating music quickly became a reminder of how dramatically plans can change.
Power Rangers’ Amy Jo Johnson is “happy to be alive” after the plane skidded off the runway
Johnson, 56, recapped the eventful weekend in an Instagram post on Monday, October 19. Alongside concert photos, she shared images of the aircraft after it struck a runway fence on Sunday, October 18. “It was an eventful weekend. That’s for sure,” she wrote. She continued, “Watching the incredible @donniewahlberg and his mates crush it in their last show in Vegas. And then surviving a very hairy plane situation. But we did. And I’m grateful and very happy to be alive!”
Wahlberg, 57, responded warmly in the comments. “You rock Amy Jo! So thankful for you, and for my buddy Matt! So very blessed!” he wrote.
The Boston Blue star had also addressed the incident in an Instagram video on Sunday. He confirmed that his “team/friends [were] onboard the aircraft” when the plane failed to take off successfully.
“We were taking off and didn’t get up in the air and ran out of runway. I’m just going to tell you these pilots saved our lives,” Wahlberg explained. “And God covered us.”
In his accompanying caption, he described the frightening moments before the aircraft stopped. “It was a rather intense few moments (which felt like a few long minutes),” he wrote, thanking the pilots and emergency personnel. He added that the plane sustained damage, but the passengers did not.
Harry Reid International Airport confirmed that the general aviation aircraft skidded off runway 1L at approximately 11 a.m. and struck the perimeter fence. Officials reported no known injuries and temporarily closed two runways for inspection. The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was bound for Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada. Eight people were onboard when the pilot aborted takeoff, sending the aircraft off the runway.
