Butler forced to land early after plane loses cabin pressure

A charter flight for Butler was forced to land in Pittsburgh on Thursday night after the cabin lost pressure.

The Bulldogs were flying home from New York following a loss to St. John's when things started to go wrong on the flight.

"It started to get really cold, and the plane went completely dark," Butler head coach Chris Holtmann told ESPN's Jeff Goodman. "Then all the oxygen masks came flying down, and the flight attendant told everyone to put the masks on. She kept repeating it. We had a really rapid descent. In the span of 10 or 12 minutes, we went from 35,000 feet to 10,000 feet."

Holtmann added that some staff members texted their families and players were panicking.

"As a coach, you are obviously thinking of your family," Holtmann said. "But you are also thinking about all the young men on the plane. I was shook. It was scary. We had guys crying."

The pilot told Holtmann "that was some of the longest minutes of my life."

Butler is scheduled to fly home to Indianapolis on Friday.