The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t get the plane off the ground — literally and figuratively. After getting waxed 30-6 by the Houston Texans, they just wanted to get out of dodge. But, per Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten, a mechanical issue on the team’s charter plane delayed that itch.
We were delayed this evening due to a mechanical issue with our charter plane following the game in Houston. We have now been cleared to safely fly back to Pittsburgh.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) October 2, 2023
This is the second consecutive week Pittsburgh’s faced mechanical difficulties leaving their away game. In Week 3, the charter was forced to make an emergency landing in Kansas City after leaving Las Vegas. The team spent more than eight hours on the tarmac awaiting service to the engine, which had suffered oil pressure failure.
Kenny Pickett described some teammates as “panicking,” and T.J. Watt said on Friday’s Pat McAfee Show that he was “holding my breath until we hit the ground.”
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, this aircraft was different from the one used on September 24.
Thankfully, this was a brief delay. Last week’s snafu caused the team to cram everything into a short-week schedule, resulting in a lambasting by Houston.
No excuses for their poor performance.
