Copperfield Emergency Landing: Magician Endures Scary Flight

David Copperfield was part of an emergency landing in Illinois this morning when his flight was disrupted by strange noises coming from the airplane.

The famed magician was flying to New York for an appearance on Today when a loud sound in the aircraft forced the flight crew to make an emergency landing at Byerly Aviation in Bartonville, Illinois. All passengers aboard the private plane were returned to the ground safely, although a bit shaken.

According to NBC News, Copperfield admitted to being a bit unsettled by the experience. The illusionist sent out a series of Twitter messages about the unexpected stopover, including the following tweet:

“Everyone is ok. Emergency landing in Peoria, Illinois. So scary.”

Copperfield, who was born David Seth Kotkin, described the noise that prompted the emergency landing as a “crackling” sound. According to the magician, the airplane was thousands of feet in the air when the noise presented itself.

The flight crew erred on the side of caution when the sound persisted, announcing their intent to bring the plane down.

Airport officials have reportedly indicated that the emergency landing was made at approximately 2:30 am on Monday.

Once his feet were firmly back on stable ground, Copperfield took to Twitter again, sharing his relief by simply stating that he was “happy to be on the ground and safe.”

The magician speaks about the unsettling incident in the video below:

E! Online writes that Copperfield, who Forbes described as the most commercially successful magician in history, was ultimately unable to make a physical guest appearance on this morning’s edition of Today.

However, the venerable illusionist did reach out to the show’s hosts and viewers from Illinois via Skype. During his interview with Matt Lauer, Copperfield recounted the emergency landing in detail:

“I heard this [crackling] sound and it wouldn’t stop. I felt kind of freaked out and they told us we have to go back for our descent. We were going in a spiral with G force, and we finally got to the ground … and it turned out there was snow all around.”

Despite being shaken by the day’s events, Copperfield remained ever the performer to fans watching his virtual appearance on the show. He managed to pull off an impressive illusion from the airport hangar in Illinois, enlisting the help of an airport grounds employee. Watch below:

Following Copperfield’s frightful emergency landing, the magician headed back to Las Vegas for two scheduled performances. He will return to the Today show in person next week.