A Southwest Airlines jet blew an engine at 32,000 feet and got hit by shrapnel that smashed a window, setting off a desperate scramble by passengers to save a woman from getting sucked out. One person died and seven others were injured.
Passengers dragged the unidentified woman back in as the sudden decompression of the cabin pulled her part way through the opening.
The pilot of the plane, a twin-engine Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, took it into a rapid descent and made an emergency landing in Philadelphia as passengers using oxygen masks that dropped from the ceiling said their prayers and braced for impact.
鈥淚 just remember holding my husband鈥檚 hand, and we just prayed and prayed and prayed,鈥� said passenger Amanda Bourman, of New York. 鈥淎nd the thoughts that were going through my head of course were about my daughters, just wanting to see them again and give them a big hug so they wouldn鈥檛 grow up without parents.鈥�
If this ends up being the opening scene to Final Destination 13, I'm going to be really salty.
鈥� Matt Tranchin (@mtranchin)
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt said one person died. He gave no details, but the woman who nearly got sucked out was the only one seriously injured and was taken off the plane by emergency workers. It was the first passenger fatality in an accident involving a U.S. airline since 2009.
The NTSB sent a team of investigators. Sumwalt said the engine will be taken apart and examined to understand what caused the failure. Photos of the plane on the tarmac showed a missing window and a chunk gone from the left engine, including part of its cover.
Passengers commended one of the pilots for her cool-headed handling of the emergency. She walked through the aisle and talked with passengers to make sure they were OK after the plane touched down.
鈥淪he has nerves of steel. That lady, I applaud her,鈥� said Alfred Tumlinson, of Corpus Christi, Texas. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to send her a Christmas card, I鈥檓 going to tell you that, with a gift certificate for getting me on the ground. She was awesome.鈥�
Tracking data from FlightAware.com showed Flight 1380 was heading west over Pennsylvania at about 32,200 feet (10 km) and travelling 500 mph (800 kph) when it abruptly turned toward Philadelphia.
Bourman said she was asleep near the back when she heard a loud noise and oxygen masks dropped. She said the plane was fairly quiet because everyone was wearing a mask.
鈥淓verybody was crying and upset,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou had a few passengers that were very strong, and they kept yelling to people, you know, 鈥業t鈥檚 OK! We鈥檙e going to do this!鈥欌��
In a recording of conversations between the cockpit and air traffic controllers, an unidentified crew member reported that there was a hole in the plane and that 鈥渟omeone went out.鈥�
Tumlinson said a man in a cowboy hat rushed forward a few rows 鈥渢o grab that lady to pull her back in. She was out of the plane. He couldn鈥檛 do it by himself so another gentleman came over and helped to get her back in the plane and they got her.鈥�
Another passenger, Eric Zilbert, an administrator with the California Education Department, said: 鈥淔rom her waist above, she was outside of the plane.鈥�
Passengers struggled to plug the hole somehow while giving the badly injured woman CPR.
Passengers did 鈥渟ome pretty amazing things under some pretty difficult circumstances,鈥� Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said.
As the plane came in for a landing, everyone started yelling to brace for impact, then clapped after the aircraft touched down safely, Bourman said.
鈥淲e were very lucky to have such a skilled pilot and crew to see us through it,鈥� Zilbert said. 鈥淭he plane was steady as a rock after it happened. I didn鈥檛 have any fearing that it was out of control.鈥�
The last time a passenger died in an accident on a U.S. airliner was 2009, when 49 people on board and one on the ground were killed when a Continental Express plane crashed on a house near Buffalo, New York.
Southwest has about 700 planes, all of them 737s, including more than 500 737-700s like the one in Tuesday鈥檚 accident. It is the world鈥檚 largest operator of the 737. The 737 is the bestselling jetliner in the world and has a good safety record.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in Dallas that there were no problems with the plane or its engine when it was inspected Sunday.
The jet鈥檚 CFM56-7B engines were made by CFM International, jointly owned by General Electric and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. CFM said in a statement that the CFM56-7B has had 鈥渁n outstanding safety and reliability record鈥� since its debut in 1997, powering more than 6,700 aircraft worldwide.
Last year, the engine maker and the Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to make ultrasonic inspections of the fan blades of engines like those on the Southwest jet. The FAA said the move was prompted by a report of a fan blade failing and hurling debris. But it was unclear whether the particular engine that failed on Tuesday was covered by the directives.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a ring around the engine that鈥檚 meant to contain the engine pieces when this happens,鈥� said John Goglia, a former NTSB member. 鈥淚n this case it didn鈥檛. That鈥檚 going to be a big focal point for the NTSB 鈥� why didn鈥檛 (the ring) do its job?鈥�
In 2016, a Southwest Boeing 737-700 blew an engine as it flew from New Orleans to Orlando, Florida, and shrapnel tore a 5-by-16-inch hole just above the wing. The plane landed safely. The NTSB said a fan blade had broken off, apparently because of metal fatigue.
Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Kristen de Groot and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, and Matthew Barakat in Washington, contributed to this story, along with AP researchers Monika Mathur and Jennifer Farrar.
Alexandra Villarreal And David Koenig, The Associated Press
Like us on and follow us on .
