On April 17, the explosion of an engine on Southwest Airlines flight 1380 from New York to Dallas left one dead and seven injured.

About twenty minutes after takeoff, the plane’s left engine exploded.  The resulting debris shattered a window, partially sucking a passenger out of the aircraft.  A furious attempt to save the woman – Jennifer Riordan, an Albuquerque bank executive – ensued, but she had sustained major traumatic injuries and was later pronounced dead.

Inside the plane, passengers and crew members prepared for the worst, as passenger Amanda Bourman told CBS News,

“…everyone was crying and upset.”

People were desperately trying to obtain Internet access to contact their loved ones. However, pilot Tammie Jo Shults remained calm as she radioed air traffic controllers.  Miraculously, the plane made a gentle emergency landing in Philadelphia.

The incident bears striking similarities to another Southwest Airlines flight, which experienced engine failure en route to Orlando in 2016.  Southwest executives have initiated extensive inspections of its entire fleet as they scramble to determine the causes of the accident.

The fate of flight 1380 bears massive consequences for the airline industry.  Not only are fewer passengers booking flights with Southwest, but the airline has canceled dozens of flights as inspections continue.  Boeing, the manufacturer of the exploding engine, has also undergone scrutiny from authorities.  As safety regulators tighten regulations on aircraft standards, other airlines have also been forced to limit their operations.

Pine Crest junior Hank Ingham remains a proponent of air travel, but he expressed regret that the airline was not able to foresee the accident. “Flying is pretty safe in general, but that’s no excuse for preventable accidents like this,” he said.

Sources: New York Times, CBS News

Photo Source: Dylan Ashe via Wikimedia Commons