1 Dead After Engine Failure Causes Southwest Flight To Make Emergency Landing
PHILADELPHIA (CBSDFW.COM) - A Southwest flight from New York City to Dallas made an emergency landing in Philadelphia due to, what the NTSB calls, an engine failure, which caused a window to blow out. One person has died, according to officials.
Southwest flight #1380 was leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York and was on its way to Dallas.
Chopper video showed passengers being evacuated from the plane. Officials say passengers exited the airplane via a mobile stairway and were bussed to the terminal.
The woman who died was identified as Jennifer Riordan, who was the vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was a mother of two. Her exact cause of death has not been released.
Seven passengers were also treated for minor injuries.
Southwest Airlines released a statement offering its condolences to those affected by the incident:
We are deeply saddened to confirm that there is one fatality resulting from this accident. The entire Southwest Airlines Family is devastated and extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the Customers, employees, family members and loved ones affected by this tragic event. We have activated our emergency response team and are deploying every resource to support those affected by this tragedy. For a message from Gary Kelly, Southwest Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, please click here.
The aircraft involved today was a Boeing 737-700 (N772SW) and was enroute from New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL). In total, the flight had 144 Customers and five Southwest Crewmembers onboard. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Southwest Pilots and Flight Attendants who acted professionally and swiftly to take care of our Customers during the emergency diversion and landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration said according to preliminary details, "The crew reported damage to one of the aircraft's engines, as well as the fuselage and at least one window.
Marty Martinez from Dallas was on the flight where he livestreamed as the plane was making its emergency landing, saying "Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!! Southwest flight from NYC to Dallas!!"
In another post, Martinez described the scene inside the plane after the reported blow out of the engine. "Engine exploded in the air and blew open window 3 seats away from me," he said in the post.
"We were probably going down for 10 or 15 minutes. And, of course, everyone is freaking out, everyone is crying. It was the scariest experience," he told CBS News. "I thought it was going to be our last few moments on Earth."
Martinez also told CBS News, "Once that window exploded and to see the flight attendants all crying we knew that something was really bad."
In a tweet, Martinez said, he "bought WiFi as the plane was going down" because he wanted to reach his loved ones.
A photo taken by passenger Joe Marcus shows the damage that caused the flight to make the emergency landing.
Another photo from Matt Tranchin on Twitter shows a window that was blown out due to the engine failure.
The FAA is investigating the incident, along with the NTSB. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.
