On Thursday, reports surfaced that NFL on Fox analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw came to the rescue of fellow passengers on a flight that had landed at Pittsburgh International Airport. However, Bradshaw himself has suggested that the details may have been exaggerated by another passenger.
When Bradshaw’s flight landed in Pittsburgh, he and his fellow travelers found themselves unable to exit the plane due to a stuck door, causing roughly a 30-minute delay while flight attendants worked to resolve the issue. According to passenger Selah Gamble, Bradshaw stood up and assisted the flight crew in opening the door.
“The pilot announced and you could kind of hear he was chuckling as he said it, but he said ‘thanks to the strength of one of our passengers, we were finally able to get the door open’ and I think we all knew he was alluding to Mr. Bradshaw,” said traveler Selah Gamble.
— Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) April 11, 2025
While it’s a charming story if accurate, Bradshaw later commented on Instagram, stating that he played no role in getting the door open and credited the maintenance crew for resolving the situation independently. “Just to set the record straight… I did nothing to open the door on the plane! The maintenance crew had it open in 15 minutes,” he asserted.
Despite his comments, Selah Gamble remains adamant about her account of the events, as confirmed by Ricky Sayer’s follow-up. In another tweet, he noted, “UPDATE: Bradshaw’s team tells us he didn’t help open the door – but was on the flight. We checked back in today with the passenger we spoke with, she is standing by her story – saying Bradshaw did help.” https://t.co/drYGgPSr0k https://t.co/fbu5WpCgR6
UPDATE: Bradshaw’s team tells us he didn’t help open the door – but was on the flight. We checked back in today with the passenger we spoke with, she is standing by her story – saying Bradshaw did help. https://t.co/drYGgPSr0k https://t.co/fbu5WpCgR6
— Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) April 11, 2025
Perhaps Terry Bradshaw is simply being humble and indeed helped the crew, or maybe a fellow passenger embellished the story. Regardless, Bradshaw holds a special place in the hearts of Pittsburgh residents, so there’s little incentive for him to promote a possibly fabricated story for acclaim.
