ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst was beginning his usual trip from Omaha to Los Angeles this week when he suddenly found himself part of a major national news story.
Windhorst, who lives in Omaha and regularly travels to L.A. to appear on NBA Today and NBA Countdown for ESPN, was on the Monday-evening flight that made an emergency landing at Eppley Airfield. After the pilots lost communication with the flight crew and heard the attendants banging on the door to make contact, they landed the plane back at the airport after just 36 minutes out of what airline SkyWest called “an abundance of caution.”
In a local news report, Windhorst detailed his experience.
“This was an unusual situation because there was no announcements whatsoever, and I honestly think that the people who were the most nervous were the flight attendants and the pilots,” Windhorst explained, “because they were the ones who knew something was wrong.”
However, Windhorst said the passengers were also not given notice when the flight turned off-course to return to Eppley, which is just outside downtown Omaha.
“I think the stress for the passengers was having the plane pull off with no communication and having police officers surround it and police officers board,” he said.
ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst, who lives in Omaha, was on the flight that made an emergency landing at Eppley Airfield and spoke with KETV about the experience.https://t.co/5x6fmN2N6F pic.twitter.com/cWlDItfu9B
— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) October 22, 2025
The flight ultimately re-boarded after multiple hours and completed its trip to L.A., where Windhorst will appear on ESPN’s NBA coverage for its first double-header of the season on Wednesday night.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.