PAULA ABDUL Shares the Truth of the 1992 Plane Crash She Survived

Paul Abdul (American Idol, Forever Your Girl) joins us for (quite possibly) our longest interview with story after story that will leave your jaw dropped. From changing her identity to become a Laker Girl, to being baby-sat by Michael Bolton, to choreographing the Jacksons,to surviving a plane crash, to having a psychic tell her about her future with American Idol years before it aired… Paula shares it all this week! Huge thank you for her openness, especially when it came to our shared experience with spinal injury (and surgeries) and how she never gave up after nearly 2 decades with excruciating pain. Too many good stories in this episode, hope you all enjoy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PAULA ABDUL Shares the Truth of the 1992 Plane Crash She Survived #insideofyou #paulaabdul #storytime

[helenni]

Michael is such a great interviewer. He gets so much information out of his guests.

[allbe]

There's absolutely no record for this. I can see why fans think she's making it up due to the inconsistencies in various accounts given. She has said previously she was wearing her seatbelt and broke through the seatbelt and hit her head on top of the plane. Here she is saying she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. It's 1992 then it's 1993. She seems to be mixing details of her "plane crash" and the plot to Fearless plus a 1989 crash in Sioux City, Iowa that has some link to Denver.

[LadyMaeghan]

I never knew about the plane crash, but I knew she had severe back issues. I suffer a chronic pain condition, so I can fully empathize.

[stephenmallary]

So, 15 surgeries on her cervical spine from this fire-consumed plane that crashed in Iowa and forced her to take 7 years off of her career. But she still managed to get to Denver somehow, play that show either the same day or a day later, and then did 19 more shows within 2 months (that involved her dancing and flying in a harness).

[HellhammerSS]

She had a drug overdose, and probably died, but was brought back. She uses this "plane crash" story as a replacement for what actually happened cause figuratively she crashed and burned. She went to the hospital and detoxed. She probably felt so much shame to her ego she came up with the crash story. Those NDAs were probably to the people who treated her and not record her OD episode.

[sherrythomas]

I remember hearing about Gloria Stefan, tour bus crash. That was horrific.

[williamwallace]

Doesn't matter if it was a private jet or not. The NTSB takes any aviation mishap, let alone a full blown "engine/wing on fire crashed into a field" crash very seriously and there should be a report on it. "It wasn't documented" is nonsense. If there was a plane crash in the US, the authorities are not going to shrug and go "oh well it was a private flight, noone got killed, just clean that wreck outta here and go on about your business, we dont need no reports".

I don't know whether she crashed or not, but I do "it wasn't documented" is not credible. If it happened, there should be a report on it, and any supposed NDAs she was able to convince others to sign could be released at her pleasure, if she so wanted.

[ChannelRichard]

Watch any performance from the Head Over Heels ('95-'96) era and get back to me.

[starzrik]

There was no investigation because the plane did not crash. Yes, an emergency landing, but no crash. They still made it to Denver and she performed as scheduled.

[amye]

There were no paparazzi in the mid-90s? Sooo who hounded Princess Diana? Good grief!

Also, she’s purposely conflating the issues. No one’s saying that it didn’t happen because we can’t find an internet article on it. The reason it didn’t happen is because there is no NTSB report, because despite these alleged injuries Paula completed the entire rest of that tour without issue, and because not one person ever mentioned to anyone in the media or the public, anything about this supposed incident, until Paula told the story in 2005.

It’s a bad PR cover story that’s supposed to explain why Paula was out of the public eye for several years and why, once she’d made her comeback via American Idol, she often appeared to be in a drug haze. PR folks come up with these stories to frame their clients as survivors all the damn time. They just normally pick something like a car crash, or an old back injury flaring up etc. “Plane crash” was an incredibly stupid choice because ANY incident like what she describes that involves a plane within US air space will get a full NTSB investigation. Period.

So either Paula went off script or she had a dumb PR agent, but no, she was not in a plane crash. She was not on a plane where the engine blew up or whatever. She lied and she hardly wants to admit that so she’s doubling down, that’s all.

[lostnfoundhistory]

Yeah she is a chronic liar… the NTSB doesn’t just not investigate plane crashes because the passenger is famous. There would be extensive public records about this crash that would be EASY to find.

[lololee]

I remember this crash because I was working on my biology homework when the news came on and announced that her plan had crashed. Video of the plane wreckage was shown and it was reported that she had been rushed to the hospital.
Now why this wasn't bigger story is beyond me because she was definitely in a crash. I can also recall right after this incident that her whole personality had changed and she always appeared to be in pain. Now because I knew she had been in a plane crash I understood why she had stopped performing, looked like she was in pain, and sounded like she was on drugs.
I'm happy she made it through the plane crash and is in a better place physically and mentally.
I Still play "Cold hearted Snake" and "Opposites Attract" when I'm cleaning.

[PhilMoskowitz]

"I help win Academy Awards for directors..."

[IdealX-freg]

I had my L5/S1 fused with screws and I'm blessed to be active and can do whatever I want now but it was HELL!!!

[WIG]

The NTSB doesn’t do NDAs when it comes to aviation accident reports. If there’s no record with the NTSB, it didn’t happen.

[tiffanilinde]

Such a strong inspiring woman so talented and beautiful

[lindamawdsley]

Like she said it ‘wasn’t her time to go’ but she must be in constant pain with all those back surgeries, wishing her a pain free life 😊

[dominique]

It’s so scary and such a trauma 😱🥺 great interview !!👍💙💙💘💘

[rhymeandreasoning]

IF true. The date PROBABLY would have been July 10 1992. From St. Louis (??? more to come on this date) going to Denver. She was on her way to Colorado on July 10. July 10 1992 she had a tour date in Pueblo, Colorado at Colorado State Fair Events Center. BUT GET THIS. This show was cancelled, YET she performed at a show somewhere in Chicago, Illinois, Hoffman Estates Poplar Creek Music Theater on July 10 1992. So one show was cancelled, but she did another show in another place on July 10 1992. In another interview she says she had done a show in St. Louis Missouri, and was then on her way to Denver. She states she had just finished onstage, then was off to Denver. Her St Louis, Missouri show was May 19 1992, and her next stop was Nashville for her show on May 21 1992. Her upcoming Denver show that was eventually cancelled was scheduled as I mentioned previously, July 10 1992. And in the other interview she says that she broke through her seatbelt and hit her head on the top of the plane. Whereas here she says she was coming back from the bathroom and climbing over luggage, and she never got to her seat, when the alleged chaos happened.

[GD]

I remember this being on the news when it happened.