LOS ANGELES -- The Cubs' cross-country flight from Washington to Los Angeles was interrupted by a layover in Albuquerque, N.M., because a family member became ill on the plane. Manager Joe Maddon said the way the players reacted was another example of the strong bond on the team.
The Cubs clinched a berth in the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World with a Game 5 win Thursday night over the Nationals in Washington in the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile. They celebrated at Nationals Park, and then boarded a charter flight for Los Angeles.
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The Cubs' plane departed Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia shortly after 4 a.m. ET on Friday, but it was diverted to Albuquerque because of a non-life-threatening medical situation.
"Everybody was fine," Maddon said Friday at Dodger Stadium. "Everybody understood the reasoning behind [the layover]. I thought our guys handled it extremely well. Biggest concern was that there might not be enough food for everybody. But big 767 [plane], plenty of room. We all settled in. We knew there was a reason."
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Once the plane touched down in Albuquerque, the pilot had to be replaced because of duty-hour restrictions. The plane remained on the ground in Albuquerque for five hours before departing just before 10:30 a.m. MT.
"The pilots had to go off-duty at that point, otherwise we could have landed and taken off right after that, but we were unable to based on their regulations," Maddon said. "We understood all that. I was really, really proud of the guys. They rallied around the person that was ill. There was a lot of support going on. From that perspective, I was looking at it from the camaraderie, the family kind of component to the entire evening.

"In spite of the inconvenience, and it was, and in today's world, with all the events that are thundering down upon us, I thought it was kind of a bunt, so I thought we handled it well."
The Cubs eventually landed in Los Angeles shortly after 11 a.m. PT, representing a 10-hour takeoff-to-touchdown journey from Dulles.
"It was unusual," Maddon said of the long day. "You saw what happened last night [in Game 5 of the NLDS], and then of course, we had that medical emergency on the airplane and that caused us to be in Albuquerque for a long period of time."
Thursday night wasn't exactly relaxing for the Cubs. Their victory over the Nationals lasted 4 hours, 37 minutes, and it did not conclude until 12:45 a.m. ET on Friday. It was the longest nine-inning game in postseason history, breaking the record of 4 hours, 32 minutes in Game 5 of last year's NLDS, when the Dodgers eliminated the Nats.