A flight from hell: passengers of a Southwest plane with an exploding engine told about their experiences

The left engine of the Southwest Airlines aircraft operating flight # XXUMX from New York to Dallas, exploded in the air at an altitude of about 10 thousand meters, its fragments damaged the body of the aircraft, which led to the depressurization of the cabin. Splinters from the explosion smashed the porthole - and the woman sitting next to it partially stretched out into the street with a stream of air, but other passengers managed to drag her back to the salon. She later died from her injuries, and seven more passengers were injured in the incident. The plane safely crash landed at Philadelphia airport, which aroused the enthusiasm of passengers who praised the pilot's skill.

Photo: facebook.com/marty.martinez

Edition Chicago Tribune collected stories of passengers of the flight.

“I just remember holding my husband’s hand and we prayed and prayed and prayed. All the thoughts in my head were about my daughters, I wanted to see them again, hug them, and so that they wouldn’t have to grow up without parents,” said Amanda Boorman from New York.

The deceased woman was identified as Jennifer Riordan, executive director of the company. Wells Fargo and a mother of two children from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She became the first passenger since 2009, who died in an accident involving an American airline. Seven other victims received minor injuries.

Photo: facebook.com/marty.martinez

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators to Philadelphia to identify the causes of the accident.

According to preliminary data, the cause of the explosion was “metal fatigue” on one of the fan blades in the engine, on which a crack was discovered. “Metal fatigue” is a phenomenon that causes metal to destruction after repeated changes in its stress state. This destruction follows the progressive development of a fatigue crack arising in the zone of maximum stresses.

The study of the engine continues to understand what caused its failure. An investigation may take from 12 to 15 months. An engine cover that fell off during the explosion was discovered in Burnville, Pennsylvania, approximately 110 km west of Philadelphia.

Southwest Airlines stated that as a precaution, in the next 30 days, it will check all such engines in its fleet.

Passengers were delighted with the performance of one of the pilots, Tammy Jo Schultz, who was able to maintain her cool in a critical situation. After the plane landed, she went into the cabin to make sure everything was okay with the passengers.

Tammy Joe Schulz.
Photo: Diana Mc Bride / Facebook

How the woman acted during the incident, told the publication Rtvi, after analyzing the negotiations of the crew commander with the dispatch center.

Realizing that there was a depressurization of the cabin, the crew decided to drop to 3 thousands of meters - at this altitude the pressure is balanced, and there is already enough oxygen to breathe passengers.

A calm and even female voice, reporting on the decline, belongs to Tammy Joe Schulz, in 80 she served in naval aviation, took off and sat on the deck of an aircraft carrier on the F-18 fighter.

Infographics: RTVI

Schulz acted strictly according to the protocol. Such situations pilots work out hundreds of times on simulators. And the Boeing-737, like any other commercial aircraft, on one engine can not only land, but also take off.

Infographics: RTVI

In the cabin at this point, one of the passengers rescues Jennifer Riordan. She was already half stretched out into a broken window, as a result of which two men managed to do it.

Passengers are trying to provide first aid in the cabin. But it was not possible to save her.

In order for the flight to land in Philadelphia, controllers quickly clear airspace for it.

Tammy Joe Schulz is allowed to keep the radio frequency, so that every time you do not switch to new channels. It is important for the pilot to concentrate as much as possible on landing and unload his hands. She is landing without assistance from the autopilot and in visual mode. That is, he sees the Philadelphia airport and is building a maneuver for landing. This is not unusual for the American pilot training system. In an emergency situation, the pilot is ready to take all control and responsibility on himself, while maintaining a calm tone.

Infographics: RTVI

Next - standard radio traffic and a standard landing with one engine inoperative - no one was injured as a result of the landing.

Passengers praised the work of Schulz.

“She has nerves of steel. I applaud this woman. I'm going to send her a Christmas card with a gift certificate for bringing me to earth. She was amazing,” Alfred Tumlinson said.

Amanda Burman said that she was asleep when she heard a loud noise and saw oxygen masks.

“Everyone was crying and screaming. There were only a few passengers in the cabin who remained stoic, and they shouted: “Everything is fine! We will succeed!” she said.

According to her, after rescuing a woman stuck in the porthole, passengers tried to close the hole.

Adam Thiel, head of the rescue team, said that “passengers managed to do incredible things in a very difficult situation.”

After touching the landing gear chassis, all the passengers clapped, according to them, during the maneuvers on the ground, “the plane was as solid as a rock,” and they were not afraid that the airliner would spin out of control.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Who to fly with: 10 best airlines according to TripAdvisor 

10 things you didn’t know about safety in airplanes

Flight secrets that only flight attendants know

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.