Is Miley Cyrus OK? Singer's plane struck by lightning, half-sister Brandi says 'we almost died'
Miley Cyrus' plane was forced to make an emergency landing while en route to Paraguay on Tuesday, March 22 after her private jet was struck by lightning. In a brief video of the incident shared by the singer on her Instagram page, passengers could be heard gasping in shock as the fuselage was illuminated by lightning after being struck.
Shortly after the incident, 'Wrecking Ball' star took to Instagram to assure her fans that she's safe. "To my fans and everyone worried after hearing about my flight to Asunción. Our plane was caught in a major unexpected storm and struck by lightning," Cyrus wrote. "My crew, band, friends and family who were all traveling with me are safe after an emergency landing. We were unfortunately unable to fly into Paraguay."
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Meanwhile, the singer's half-sister, Brandi Cyrus, who was on board at the time, posted a video on her Instagram story from inside the plane. In the video, Brandi says, "I'm going to try to not be dramatic but we almost died. Bottom's up!" while tipping back a glass that appeared to contain an alcoholic beverage to calm her nerves. Brandi's friend, Val Pina - a marketing, creative and communications consultant was also traveling in Cyrus' Gulfstream G450. Val sharing her own take on the terrifying incident said: "Literally almost died", in one of Brandi's Instagram Stories. "We just landed in I don't even know where, 200 miles away from where we're supposed to land and because lightning struck the plane so bottoms up!," added Brandi. To which Val said, "Cheers", before bumping drinks.
Cyrus, whose net worth is estimated to be at $160 million, is currently traveling throughout South America for her 'Attention' tour. The 29-year-old singer and her entourage made the emergency landing after being caught in a violent storm while traveling from Bogota, Colombia, to the Paraguayan capital city of Asunción. Cyrus was scheduled to play a festival there - a date she had to cancel as a result of the incident.
Meanwhile, Cyrus' private jet, Gulfstream G450 has a capacity of 14 passenger seats and can hold two crew members in its cabin. The aircraft can fly at a maximum speed of 674.4 miles per hour and a cruise speed of 547.7 miles per hour.