Private Jet Carrying Donnie Wahlberg Aborts Takeoff, Skids Off Las Vegas Runway and Hits Fence

A private jet carrying singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg, 57, skidded off a runway during an aborted takeoff at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 18. Airport officials placed the incident at approximately 11 a.m. and identified Runway 1L as the departure runway. Wahlberg said members of his team and friends were traveling with him.

The jet's left wingtip struck the perimeter fence, airport officials told Aviation Week. The aircraft continued moving before looping back and stopping near the adjacent runway's overrun area, and it sustained damage. Runway 1L and neighboring Runway 1R were temporarily closed for inspections and later reopened. The reason the crew aborted takeoff has not been determined.

The FAA imposed a ground stop, holding affected Las Vegas-bound flights at their departure airports. The restriction began at 12:50 p.m. Before it ended, flights headed to Harry Reid were experiencing average departure delays of one hour and 10 minutes, according to FAA information.

Wahlberg recorded a video for relatives and friends and shared it publicly on Instagram that evening after receiving concerned calls and texts. Standing near the aircraft, he pointed to trucks, heavy equipment and dumpsters the plane had avoided and said, "These pilots saved our lives," crediting their actions and his faith. He recalled praying and looking out the window as he realized the jet would not become airborne. In the caption he also thanked the emergency personnel who responded, and he later shared a photo of himself in prayer with three pilots.

New Kids on the Block had performed the final scheduled show of their residency "The Right Stuff" at Dolby Live inside Park MGM on October 17, the night before the flight.

A rejected takeoff that ends off the runway is a low-frequency event, but its operational footprint at a commercial airport is large. Here, one business jet led to inspections of two runways and an FAA ground stop that held flights at their departure airports. At airports where private and scheduled traffic share the same airfield, an incident involving a single general-aviation aircraft can ripple across airline schedules within hours.

Why the crew aborted the takeoff has not been determined, and until that is established no judgement about mechanical, procedural or environmental factors can be made. The finding that matters most next is the stated reason for the abort, along with any inspection results on the damaged aircraft; those will indicate whether this was an isolated event or one with lessons for other operators.