Superstar singer Karol G was seen in extreme distress as her private jet made an emergency landing in Los Angeles, just hours after the legendary Billboard Magazine named her Woman of the Year.
The tense moments of the Gulfstream G400 landing at Van Nuys Airport were caught on camera. The jet was forced to land after smoke was reported in the cockpit.
Karol G, real name Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is a Colombian singer who has released four platinum-certified albums since 2017.
The 33-year-old was seen getting off a plane at Van Nuys Airport on Thursday evening after what was described as an “airborne emergency.”
According to ABC7, passengers were seen hugging each other after getting back to the ground.
The singer flew in her private plane, which is adorned with the barbed wire heart tattoo she has on her arm.
Earlier this month, Karol G made history when she not only won her first-ever Grammy, but also became the first woman to win in the Best Música Urbana category
Karol G was also named Billboard's Woman of the Year 2024, putting her in the same company as Taylor Swift, SZA and Lady Gaga
In 2023, her album Mañana Será Bonito broke streaming records and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making her the first woman to do so with a Spanish-language release
Nervous moments captured on video showed a plane carrying Grammy Award-winning singer Karol G making an emergency landing at a Southern California airport after reports of smoke in the cockpit
The plane took off from Burbank Airport on Thursday with 16 passengers and crew on board.
No details are known about the flight except that it was an “eastbound flight.”
The pilot reported the smoke problem as the aircraft entered Cajon Pass, about 70 miles to the east.
The plane landed smoothly at Van Nuys Airport, about 15 miles west of its takeoff location, around 9 p.m. local time.
According to the aircraft's label, it was leased to the singer by VICTOR, a private jet specialist with locations around the world.
A profile of the aircraft states that it seats 14 people and was manufactured in 2004. It can reach a top speed of 550 miles per hour. The home base is in the Dominican Republic.
In February 2021, Navarro announced in an Instagram post that she had purchased a private jet, a ten-passenger Dassault Falcon 2000, from Colombian sensation J Balvin for herself as a birthday present.
This aircraft is not the same aircraft involved in Thursday's incident.
The singer flew in her private plane, which is adorned with the barbed wire heart tattoo she has on her arm
The plane took off from Burbank Airport on Thursday with 16 passengers and crew on board. No details about the flight are known yet, other than that it was an “eastbound flight.”
Karol G, real name Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is a Colombian singer who has released four platinum-certified albums since 2017
The singer is currently in the middle of a Latin American tour and has no stops planned in the United States.
She was scheduled to perform in Guatemala on Friday evening. It is unclear whether the show will take place as planned.
It came just hours after smoke was reported in the cabin of an American Airlines flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Chicago on Thursday morning, USA Today reported.
No injuries were reported and local fire and rescue services were able to bring the situation under control.
Navarro has won five Latin Grammys and four Billboard Music Awards.
Their most recent album was the first Spanish-language record ever to land on the English-language Billboard 200 charts.
Earlier Thursday, Navarro was named Billboard's 2024 Woman of the Year, putting her in the same company as Taylor Swift, SZA and Lady Gaga.
“You know, I feel very responsible for this. “As a woman, I have to say that, as in my experience, it has been difficult to be a girl, in this industry, in the music I make, in urban music, as in so many other things,” she said in one Interview with the AP earlier this month.
Navarro will officially receive her Woman of the Year trophy at the Billboard Women in Music Awards on March 6.
“With her immense talent, Karol G has created a movement for women around the world due to her powerful lyrics and shameless confidence,” Hannah Karp, Billboard editorial director, said in a statement.
“The release of her groundbreaking album Mañana Será Bonito has proven that she is a force to be reckoned with on both the English and Spanish charts. “We are delighted to honor her as Woman of the Year.”
Other Billboard Women in Music Awards honorees include Ice Spice, NewJeans, Victoria Monét, Maren Morris, Kylie Minogue, Young Miko and more.
The awards ceremony will take place at the YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park in Los Angeles and will be hosted by actress and producer Tracee Ellis Ross.