PHILADELPHIA – A woman has died in United States after being partially sucked out of a plane window when one of its engines blew up in mid-air.
As Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 hurtled 32,000 feet over suburban Philadelphia, a rare engine explosion caused a passenger’s window to burst, partially pulling the woman sitting next to the opening out of the plane.
The jet’s left engine blew shortly after takeoff, passengers said. Pieces of shrapnel flew into the plane’s fuselage and at least one window, the passengers and FAA said.
One woman, Jennifer Riordan, was killed after being hit by shrapnel and seven others needed medical treatment, according to the NBCPhiladelphia.
The mother-of-two was a vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo bank and had been on a business trip.
She is the first passenger to die in an accident involving a US airline since 2009.
The frightening ordeal played out Tuesday morning onboard Southwest flight 1380 as it headed for Dallas. The Boeing 737-700 was about 20 minutes into its journey from New York’s LaGuardia Airport when the engine failure occurred. The plane, carrying 144 passengers and five crew, diverted to Philadelphia International Airport where it made an emergency landing at 11:20 a.m.
Passengers were later seen walking off the plane and on to the tarmac with firefighters attending the left engine of the Southwest Airlines plane.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Southwest Airlines said there were 143 passengers on board, along with five crew members.
https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir/status/986354089591062528
“We are in the process of gathering more information. Safety is always our top priority at Southwest Airlines, and we are working diligently to support our customers and crews at this time,” it said.
The plane involved was inspected on Sunday, the airline’s boss Gary Kelly told media, adding that the incident was the first in Southwest’s 51-year history.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the engine showed evidence of “metal fatigue” and one of its fan blades was separated and missing.
The airline is speeding up inspections of similar engines.
