It takes quite a lot to rattle a man who's spent the better part of his adult life jetting around the globe on world tours. But Nick Jonas has revealed that one flight nearly a decade ago shook him to his core — and it was the sight of a crying pilot that truly brought home just how close to disaster they'd come.
Vegas, Glen Powell, and a Very Bad Takeoff
The Jonas Brothers singer and actor appeared on Live with Kelly and Mark earlier this month, where hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos asked him about what they cheekily billed as "Nick Jonas and Glen Powell's Harrowing Flight." The two have become firm friends over the years, and as it turns out, there's a very specific reason for that bond.
Jonas explained that the incident happened roughly ten years ago, when he and the Top Gun: Maverick star were heading home from Las Vegas with a group of friends. Everything started normally enough — until it very much didn't.
"We were in Vegas together with a group of friends, and on the way home, the plane basically took off and then — I don't know the technical term for it — but there was an issue with the power. Which is never a good thing, obviously."
With his trademark dry wit, Jonas couldn't resist a dig at his pal's aviation credentials — or lack thereof at the time. "This is pre-Top Gun: Maverick Glen Powell, so he was in flight training, but he couldn't have landed the plane like he can now," he quipped. "He was just regular old Glen Powell. So, had this happened a couple of weeks ago, different story."
The Detail That Said It All
As nerve-shredding as the in-flight emergency sounds, it was what happened after landing that truly gave Jonas pause. Consuelos pressed him on whether the flight crew had appeared worried during the ordeal — and the answer was more alarming than anyone in the studio quite expected.
"One of them was crying when we landed," Jonas revealed, prompting an immediately relatable "That's when you know" from Consuelos.
Ripa, ever the nervous flyer's ally, then asked whether the cabin crew had also looked rattled. "Yeah, they looked concerned," Jonas confirmed. "It was one of those experiences you never forget."
He admitted that before spotting the emotional pilot, he'd almost managed to convince himself the situation hadn't been quite as dire as it felt. That illusion didn't last long. "I was thinking, 'Okay, maybe it wasn't as bad as I sort of felt like it was.' And then I saw him crying. I was like, 'Oh no, this was bad.'"
A Friendship Forged at 30,000 Feet
If there's a silver lining to nearly falling out of the sky over Nevada, it's apparently a lifelong bromance. Consuelos observed that surviving something that stressful together tends to create a particular kind of connection — and Ripa had the perfect label for it.
"That's called a trauma bond," she joked. "That's literally what that is," Jonas agreed, before adding warmly: "Glen's the best. I think from that moment on, we've just built a great friendship."
Jonas is currently riding high professionally, promoting his new film Power Ballad alongside Paul Rudd, which is now in cinemas. He's also preparing for the release of Jumanji: Open World, due to hit screens on Christmas Day. Given what he and Powell apparently survived together, a blockbuster action-adventure sequel probably feels like light work.
