Private plane carrying singer Karol G makes emergency landing in Los Angeles

A private airplane carrying singer Karol G made an emergency landing at a Los Angeles airport on Thursday evening (29 February), according to reports.

The aircraft carrying the Grammy winner and other passengers landed at Van Nuys Airport around 9 pm with no immediate reports of injuries, KABC-TV reported.

The plane left Hollywood Burbank Airport with 16 people onboard. It flew east but turned around when the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, according to the news outlet.

The cause of the malfunction is not immediately known.

The 33-year-old singer has yet to comment about her mid-air emergency.

The Colombian singer recently won a Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album for her album Mañana Será Bonito.

She is currently on tour in Latin America and is set to play at the Explanada Cardales de Cayalá in Guatemala City on Friday (1 March).

The Latin American leg of her Mañana Será Bonito Tour continues into May, with the European dates picking up in Switzerland on 8 June. Karol G is set to play The O2 in London on 18 and 19June.

Karol G 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 6 March.

“You know, I feel a lot of responsibility about that. As a woman, I have to say, like in my experience, it was tough, like so many things, to be a girl in this industry, in the music that I do, in urban music,” she told The Associated Press in response to her win.

Previous honorees include Madonna, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, and Ariana Grande.

In 2023, her album Mañana Será Bonito broke streaming records and hit No 1 on the Billboard 200, making her first woman to do so with a Spanish-language release.

“With her immense talent, Karol G has created a movement for women across the globe due to her empowering lyrics and shameless confidence,” said Hannah Karp, Billboard’s Editorial Director, in a statement.

“The release of her groundbreaking album Mañana Será Bonito has proven her a force to be reckoned with in both the English and Spanish charts. We are so excited to honour her as Woman of the Year.”

Other award recipients at the Billboard Women in Music Awards include Ice Spice, NewJeans, Victoria Monét, Maren Morris, Kylie Minogue, Young Miko, and more.

Additional reporting by AP