Southwest Passengers At BWI On Edge After Tuesday's Mid-Air Explosion
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A flurry of anxious passengers boarded Southwest flights at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport on Wednesday, preparing to fly just one day after the nation's first airline death in nine years.
"Well, when the Uber driver kind of told us about it, I guess it was a little bit shocking as we were on our way to the airport taking a long trip to Seattle today," one flyer said.
The news of an on-board disaster on Tuesday that resulted in the tragic death of a New Mexico mother was on the top of some fliers' minds.
"I actually didn't want to believe it. And I thought about my own self, it could be me. And I thought about her children and her family. That's horrible. It shouldn't happen to anybody," Southwest passenger Derenda Whitfield said.
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BWI, which is a major hub for Southwest, has seen close calls in the past.
In 2014, a bird that struck a Southwest flight from San Antonio triggered an emergency landing in Baltimore.
Two months ago, a Jamaica-bound Southwest flight skidded on the taxiway. All 150 passengers were evacuated.
Still, these accidents are very rare. By the numbers, air travel in the United States is overwhelmingly safer than any other mode of transportation.
Passenger Marcelle Lanctop says she's unfazed.
"I was kind of shocked because they do try and keep the planes safe and accidents happen," Lanctop said.
As thousands of daily Southwest flights take off from Baltimore and all over the country,
passengers may be unsettled but are still flying.
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