Browns guard says team is 'lucky to be alive' following 'terrifying' plane ride Sunday

Jason Pinkston (right) said the team 'escaped one' during their flight from Cincinnati to Cleveland. (John Grieshop/Getty Images) The weather wreaked havoc on

Jason Pinkston (right) said the team 'escaped one' during their flight from Cincinnati to Cleveland. (John Grieshop/Getty Images)

The weather wreaked havoc on the field last Sunday, and it apparently made travel quite hazardous as well.

Cleveland Browns guard Jason Pinkston said the team is "lucky to be alive" following a "terrifying" plane ride from Cincinnati to Cleveland after the Browns' 41-20 loss to the Bengals.

As result of heavy rain and 50 mph winds, the Browns made plans to bus home after the game against the Bengals. But they boarded a plane when it was determined that it was safe to make the 45-minute trip home.

"It was terrifying,'' Pinkston said of the flight to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "It was the real thing. The weather was so bad. We were coming in to land and [the pilot] had to go kind of fast to balance it out and we came down and we hit on two wheels. The [left] wing was literally three feet from hitting the ground.

"We're actually pretty lucky to be alive right now, to be honest. We really escaped one. We got away with one last night.''

Pinkston says he wasn't the only one scared by the turbulent flight.

"There were a bunch of screams," said Pinkston. "You could hear everyone screaming on the plane. It was pretty real. I screamed, because I was sitting right over [left] wing. My window was open and I saw the whole thing."

Defensive lineman Billy Winn was as scared as Pinkston.

“Billy was shaking like a little girl," kidded Paul Kruger.

Explained Winn: "Holy cow -- I swear the wing was a couple feet from the ground. At the last second it was dead quiet right before the landing. We’re going to land and it got real quiet and I heard this big gust of wind and it went like that [a tilting motion with his hand] and came back and we recovered. We had a great pilot. A fantastic pilot. Bless his heart for getting here safely.”

Gilbert said there were some "whoas" and some sighs of reliefs, but doesn't recall anyone screaming. He confirmed that the plane was off-center when it landed, but said he's experienced worse.

hospitalized with a blood clot last season