1 Dead After Southwest Airlines Flight Suffers Engine Failure
Federal investigators said Tuesday afternoon that one person was killed after a failed engine forced a Southwest Airline flight to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia.
The flight, which had taken off from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, had to land when an engine explosion caused a window to break, depressurizing the plane. According to initial reports, a female passenger was sucked toward the broken window and had to be hospitalized after landing.
Albuquerque station KOAT TV later identified the passenger as Jennifer Riordan and confirmed that she had died.
Riordan was the vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo bank in New Mexico and a noted community volunteer, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Her family released a statement on her death, asking for privacy during this time.
STATEMENT from the family of Jennifer Riordan, the @SouthwestAir passenger killed during the explosive decompression of SWA 1380 this morning. She was an Albuquerque, NM resident. pic.twitter.com/s4nf6O22JW
— Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) April 18, 2018
Southwest also released a statement about the death on Tuesday, calling the event tragic.
Seven other people were reportedly treated for minor injuries.
Flight 1380 was scheduled to fly to Dallas but made an emergency stop in Philadelphia after an engine on the left side of the plane blew out.
Passenger Marty Martinez told CBS Philadelphia that the sequence of events after the engine exploded was “terrifying.”
“The engine exploded and it broke a window,” Martinez said. “First there was an explosion and almost immediately, the oxygen masks came down and, probably in a matter of 10 seconds, the engine then hit a window and busted it wide open.”
#UPDATE Window was blown out in the 17th row causing a loss of cabin pressure as the #Airplane made a rapid decompression and returned to the ground. The flight 1380 was from #NewYork #laguardia to #Dallas #LoveField in #Texas. Reports of a female passenger with serious injuries. pic.twitter.com/zE8rg0OP0R
— Scot Tanner Buchholz (@BScotTanner) April 17, 2018
Martinez told CNN he was sitting just a row or two away from Riordan, whose arms and body were sucked toward the broken window.
He said passengers held on to her while nonstationary objects flew out the hole.
Another man relayed similar information from his daughter-in-law, a passenger on the plane, telling NBC Philadelphia that when the window imploded, a female passenger was partially sucked out and other passengers needed to pull her back in.
The aircraft was flying around 32,500 feet when the engine blew out. Aviation expert Arthur Wolk told the station that the plane’s rate of descent indicated that the pilot had control of the aircraft.
Southwest Airlines released this statement about the emergency landing to HuffPost:
“We are aware that Southwest flight #1380 from New York La Guardia (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL) has diverted to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). We are in the process of transporting Customers and Crew into the terminal.
“The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, has 143 Customers and five Crewmembers onboard. 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.”
Boeing responded with more information about the aircraft:
UPDATED STATEMENT ON SWA FLIGHT #1380: Boeing is aware of the event and is providing technical assistance to the investigation. As per international protocol governing civil aviation investigations, questions about the investigation should be directed to the NTSB.
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) April 17, 2018
The Federal Aviation Administration released this statement about the landing:
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#BREAKING FAA statement on Southwest Flight 1380 pic.twitter.com/FyPS7Mud0U
— Jeffrey Cook (@JeffreyCook) April 17, 2018
Passengers also posted photos on social media of the damaged plane.
What a flight! Made it!! Still here!! #southwest #flight1380 pic.twitter.com/Cx2mqoXVzY
— Joe Marcus (@joeasaprap) April 17, 2018
They also thanked the crew.
@SouthwestAir These are the hero’s of SWA 1380 NYC to Dallas We lost an engine mid-flight and they guided back to Philly saved 149 on board pic.twitter.com/RNA8sXRBZA
— Kristopher Johnson (@EMMS_MrJohnson) April 17, 2018
This story has been updated with news that a person on the plane has died. Please check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.