NEWBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — A private jet carrying rapper Post Malone blew two tires during takeoff at a small New Jersey airport on Tuesday but made a safe emergency landing hours later in upstate New York, prompting the rapper to thank fans who prayed for him and diss those who “wished death” on him while he was in the air.
The face-tattooed singer/rapper, who had been headed to England, tweeted, “i landed guys.”
“Oh, my God, I hate flying in general. I don’t even know what to say, man. I’m shook,” he told the celebrity website TMZ on Facetime. “There was one hell of a team on that aircraft, and we’re here, we’re here on earth, and I need a beer, and I need some wine, at the same time, mixed together.”
Fans had gathered at New York Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of New York City, after hearing he was on board, and they cheered when the plane landed just before 4 p.m. The rapper was scheduled to perform at the Reading and Leeds Festival in England over the weekend, according to his website’s tour schedule.
“thank you for your prayers,” he posted on Twitter after Tuesday’s emergency landing. “can’t believe how many people wished death on me on this website.”
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, airport manager Eric Billowitz said.
