One Dead after Southwest Airlines Engine Failure Results in Explosion

A Southwest Airlines flight suffered an inflight emergency today, resulting in the death of one passenger.

Local10.com reports that the flight was on its way to Dallas when passengers heard some kind of explosion and saw the oxygen masks deploy from the aircraft’s overhead compartment. The plane was rattled as the result of an exploding engine, which sent shrapnel into the cabin and tore a hole in it.

Passengers report having been hysterical after the explosion, and afraid that they were going to die. One witness reported seeing a woman being sucked toward one of the plane’s windows. The craft’s crew members tried to plug the hole in the airplane’s hull as pilots attempted to maneuver the craft to a safe landing.  

After a swift descent, Southwest Airlines flight 1380 conducted an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

In all, seven or eight people were hurt in the incident, two seriously. One person was killed.