To hear the Red Clay Strays talk about their trip to the 2026 ACM Awards, it sounds like they were lucky to be able to accept their Group of the Year statuette at the event.
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PEOPLE shared the news. When asked on the red carpet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas what the "most country thing" they'd done that week was, guitarist Zack Rishel shared that the band almost met its maker when its private jet had technical difficulties.
"We almost died in that private jet. Part of our engine cowling flew off during takeoff," he said.
The Red Clay Strays Called the Incident "Terrifying"
Bassist Andrew Bishop added that the jet had to circle above Mobile, Alabama, for nearly two hours to burn enough fuel to land again.
From there, the band boarded a different plane and headed to Las Vegas.
"It was terrifying," said drummer John Hall.
And apparently, this isn't the first "in the air" incident involving the Red Clay Strays. Back in October, the group experienced some extreme turbulence on a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah.
In a clip posted to Instagram, the band held on tight as the plane shook. Bishop even put on Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were involved in a 1977 plane crash that killed six people, including band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines.
The bassist said that if the plane was going to go down, "It's gonna go down to Skynyrd."
You Know Who Else Is a Fan of the Red Clay Strays?
Earlier this year, Kelly Clarkson covered "No One Else Like Me" on an episode of her talk show. She added that she has been "obsessive" over them.
"They are a great band, already being honored as vocal group of the year by the CMA Awards," she said after her performance. "I've been listening to it nonstop, so you gotta check them out."
So, on behalf of Kelly Clarkson and us, we kindly ask that the Red Clay Strays stop pushing their luck in the air and start using a bus.
