A private jet carrying singer Karol G made an emergency landing late on Feb. 29 at an airport in the area of Los Angeles, California, according to video footage of the incident obtained by news outlets.
The twin-engine plane, which departed from a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank with a total of 16 people on board, landed without incident at Van Nuys Airport after the pilot reported a problem in the cockpit, KABC reported.
In a statement on Feb. 29, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the plane as a twin-engine Gulfstream IV, saying it landed safely at California’s Van Nuys Airport around 9 p.m. local time after the pilot “reported smoke in the cockpit.”
The cause of the malfunction was not immediately known.
The FAA, which did not name Karol G, said the private jet was headed to El Salvador International Airport after departing from Hollywood Burbank Airport.
The agency is investigating the incident.
In video footage shared on X, the Colombian reggaetón singer appears to be seen walking down the stairs to exit the plane before shaking hands with emergency crews and hugging friends and associates on the tarmac.
The 30-second clip also shows a board sign near the plane reading “Mañana Será Bonito Tour,” the 33-year-old singer’s ongoing concert tour in Latin America with the next scheduled dates in Guatemala City on March 1 and 2.
It is unclear whether the emergency will impact her tour schedule. So far, this seems not to be the case since the singer has not sent out a notification about the incident on social media.
Additionally, it looks like Karol G has decorated the jet with a heart logo, the same heart-shaped barbed-wire tattoo she has at the top of her left upper arm.
In an interview with Allure in March 2022, she explained that the heart-shaped logo represents a turbulent period of her personal life.
“The tattoo represents a moment in my life where I questioned myself a lot. I strengthened and weakened myself a lot. It was a very important moment for me personally, not for my career. For Carolina,” she said.
Karol G won her first Grammy and was named Billboard magazine’s 2024 Woman of the Year in February. The singer-songwriter is expected to be honored at the Billboard Women in Music Awards on March 6.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
