Dwayne Johnson says he realised the fragility of life after revealing a scary incident while he was flying in his private jet. The Rock was flying from his home in Hawaii to Houston, Texas, when the pilot of his plane came to report a mechanical fault.
The wrestler turned actor and businessman was travelling to attend the opening weekend of the United Football League, which he co-founded, when the problem arose. He, the pilot and the crew were the only people on board his £50million ($65m) Gulfstream G650 jet when he got the terrifying news.
“Last night, we had some issues with the plane,” the 52-year-old explained to his followers on Instagram. “About 35-40 minutes into the flight the pilot comes back to me.
“He gets down on one knee and he faces me, face-to-face, and it’s just me on the plane, me and the crew, and he says ‘Mr Johnson I’m sorry to inform you that we cannot continue to fly over the ocean’.
“I so appreciate his demeanour. His name was Captain David. I appreciated his demeanour in that moment, and he said it was a hydraulics issue with the overheating.
“He said there are some issues we can work out while we’re in the air but there are some issues we’re not going to take a chance [on], especially over the ocean.”
He added: “When you are back there alone with just your drink and you are thinking about this, and you’ve got everything crossed hoping you make it back safely, you start to realise really quickly the s*** that is really important in life.
“Then you realise the s*** that doesn’t matter, that you are thinking about and worrying about. I had one of those moments last night. Bottom line is: I’m grateful to be back on the ground. I’m grateful to be back home in Hawaii.
“I appreciate God, the universe… I took this as a sign from God and the universe. I wish, though, I was there in Houston.”
The United Football League (UFL) was founded last year as a merger between the Vince McMahon-founded XFL and United States Football League (USFL). It is the latest attempt in the United States to found a lower-level alternative to the NFL and was founded by Johnson, film producer Dany Garcia and investors RedBird Capital Partners, who also have a stake in Liverpool.
Johnson later tweeted: “Super bummed I can’t be in Texas but so grateful we were able to land the plane safely. So sorry to our @TheUFL fans, players, coaches, staff and our teams at @FOXSports @espn I’m not there. Let’s have a great season 2 opening weekend, have fun, and ball out.”
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