USC faces airplane hiccup after landing in Lewiston ahead of Washington State game

A turbulent week for USC’s football team continued when the Trojans landed in Lewiston on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game against Washington State.

The Trojans, who fired eighth-year coach Clay Helton two days after a blowout loss to Stanford, encountered trouble on the tarmac at Lewiston Nez Perce County Airport when the team’s charter airplane tipped back shortly after landing. 

A viral photo on Twitter shows the plane’s nose pointing high in the air with the tail resting on the ground. The photo has since been retweeted more than 2,300 times and liked more than 3,800 times.

According to a school spokesperson, the incident occurred during the deplaning process and was the result of the grounds crew not putting the kickstand up. USC players had deplaned and only coaches and staff members were on board when the plane tipped. Nobody was hurt as a result of the incident and all remaining passengers were able to leave the plane once it was leveled out, the spokesperson said.