WARNING TO ALL READERS:
You may not want to read the rest of this post if you ever want to fly in an airplane ever again…
On Tuesday afternoon, a Southwest Airlines flight en route from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Dallas made an emergency landing in Philadelphia after one of the engines blew and a passenger got nearly sucked out of a window as a result.
As confirmed by a map via FlightAware, Southwest Flight 1380 was headed west/southwest when it took a sharp turn east, back towards Philadelphia.
Accounts from passengers on board have confirmed that an engine on the left side of the plane exploded mid-flight, causing shrapnel to fly across the aisle.
Incredibly, only one person was injured from the blast and he/she was tended to by medical personnel aboard the aircraft.
“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),” said Southwest in a statement, adding:
“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.”
As news continues to break regarding exactly what happened, passengers have started to share photos from the plane on social media.
For example, Kristopher Johnson snapped the picture below and shared it to Twitter, thanking the Southwest crew “for a great job getting us to the ground safely after losing in engine.”
Marty Martinez, meanwhile, shared a Facebook live video that depicts him with an oxygen mask on.
“Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!!” he says in the footage.
Martinez later talked to CBS News after the plane had landed in Philadelphia, explaining something went wrong about a half hour into the trip.
“All of a sudden, we heard an explosion and I come to find out that the engine exploded on the left side of the plane,” he said.
“That explosion caused one of the windows to explode in row 17 of the plane, which was just two aisles over from me.”
Added Martinez:
“I thought I was cataloging the last moments of my existence. It was absolutely terrifying.”
Then there was Todd Baur, the father of one passenger onboard, who told NBC Philadelphia that a woman was nearly sucked out of the broken window.
She “was partially … was drawn out towards the out of the plane” and “was pulled back in by other passengers,” Baur said, adding that she was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Philadelphia Airport has Tweeted that passengers should expect delays following an order (since lifted) from the Federal Aviation Administration that had been preventing flights en route to Philadelphia from taking off.
Crazy, right?
While this near-catastrophe might scare some folks away some flying, it may actually encourage others to feel even safer in the sky.
After all… an engine actually blew up and the plane was still able to land safely, with no fatalities.
Pretty amazing, no?
UPDATE: The FAA has issued its statement on what happened to Southwest flight 1380.
It reads as follows:
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 landed at Philadelphia International Airport this morning after the crew reported damage to one of the aircraft’s engines, as well as the fuselage and at least one window.
The aircraft, which departed from New York LaGuardia Airport, diverted to Philadelphia, where it landed at 11:20 a.m. Eastern.
Passengers exited the aircraft using air stairs. Please contact local emergency response officials for information on the condition of the passengers.
The FAA is investigating the incident and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.