When a Charter Plane Goes Boom: The New York Liberty’s 12-Hour Tarmac Nightmare

What Happened?

Even though the WNBA (a women’s basketball league) now requires teams to use private “charter” planes (think of a rent-a-plane just for the team), that doesn’t mean the plane will always behave. The New York Liberty learned this the hard way on Wednesday.

• Their plane had mechanical issues (something broke or didn’t work).
• They got stuck on the ground (the “tarmac” is the paved area where planes park) for 12 hours.
• Because of this, their Thursday road game against the Dallas Wings was postponed (pushed to a later date).

Important Point: The WNBA said the delay was because of the Liberty’s plane problems, NOT because of weather.

The Game Change

The game was originally planned for:

• When: Thursday night
• Where: College Park Center in Arlington, Texas

Now it is:

• When: Monday night at 7 p.m. CT (Central Time)
• Where: Same place
• Broadcast info (where you can watch it) is still being figured out.

How the Liberty Passed the Time

Players and coaches shared the struggle on social media (like Instagram):

• Assistant coach Kristen Mann said the team spent 9 hours on the plane and went “nowhere.”
• Rookie Pauline Astier posted around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday: after 10 hours, they were still on the tarmac. She wrote in French, “10h après toujours sur le tamarac” (10 hours later still on the tarmac), with a photo of herself and teammate Marine Fauthoux.
• The Liberty stayed in New York on Thursday.
• They planned to fly to Indiana on Friday for a Saturday game vs. the Fever.

The team did not reply when asked for a comment at the time this was written.

How Dallas Found Out

Dallas knew something was up just before midnight:

• They heard the Liberty had plane trouble and the game might be affected.
• For Dallas, it was no big drama:
  1. Their gameday shootaround (light practice before a game) became a normal practice.
  2. They switched focus to prep for a game vs. the Los Angeles Sparks.

Dallas guard Azzi Fudd said: “It was definitely a weird wakeup. But I think we did a great job pivoting.”

The Weather Side Note

Even though weather didn’t cause the Liberty’s issue, storms were wild elsewhere:

• Heavy rain and thunderstorms in north Texas caused hundreds of flight delays.
• The FAA (the people who control air travel) issued a ground stop (no planes in/out) at Dallas-Fort Worth airport and Dallas Love Field on Wednesday.
• Storms also hit New York late Wednesday, delaying planes there too.

What’s Next for Dallas?

The Wings now have a busy schedule:

1. Play the Sparks on Sunday.
2. Play the moved Liberty game on Monday.

Dallas coach Jose Fernandez (in his first year after 25 years at South Florida) said: “We saw this type of stuff in college. I’m a firm believer that you control what you can control. Sometimes chaos is good (to test) how you respond to it. I thought these guys really responded.”

Summary

The New York Liberty’s charter flight broke down, stranding them on a tarmac for 12 hours. Their Thursday game vs. the Dallas Wings was moved to Monday. Dallas calmly adjusted, and the WNBA blamed the plane’s mechanics—not the storms—for the delay.

FAQ

Q: What is a charter flight?
A: It’s a private plane rented just for a team or group, not a regular commercial flight with strangers.

Q: Why was the game postponed if there was bad weather too?
A: The WNBA said the Liberty’s plane had mechanical issues, so the weather was not the official reason.

Q: When will the Liberty vs. Wings game happen now?
A: Monday night at 7 p.m. CT at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Q: How did the Liberty pass the time while stuck?
A: They sat on the plane for hours and posted about it on Instagram, saying they went “nowhere.”