Thunder safe after plane damaged during flight; Delta blames bird

The Oklahoma City Thunder experienced a mid-flight scare.

The team was flying out of Minneapolis following Friday night's loss to the Timberwolves and was heading to Chicago when the charter plane apparently hit something with its nose at 30,000 feet.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt as they landed safely in the Windy City for Saturday's tilt against the Bulls.

Nevertheless, the photos and videos are jarring:

It's unknown what happened to the aircraft, but Patrick Patterson offered a possible cause:

Steven Adams reached out to some prominent folks in the scientific community on Twitter to confirm:

Delta Airlines told The Oklahoman's Erik Horne on Saturday morning that it was probably a bird:

Delta flight 8935, operating from Minneapolis to Chicago-Midway as a charter flight for the Oklahoma City Thunder, likely encountered a bird while on descent into Chicago. The aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, landed safely without incident; customers have since deplaned and maintenance teams are evaluating. Safety is Delta’s top priority.