Passenger Dies After Engine of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 Explodes
Flight 1380 was carrying 149 people onboard at the time of the explosion
Tragedy struck a Dallas-bound Southwest Airlines flight Tuesday when the engine of a passenger airplane exploded in mid-air.
According to a recent report from Reuters, the engine also broke apart in the aftermath of the explosion.
The explosion led to a piece of shrapnel piercing one of the airplane's windows, and it struck passenger Jennifer Riordan. Riordan died from the injuries she sustained from the explosion.
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Per a report from the New York Daily News, the 43-year-old Riordan served as the vice president of community relations at the Wells Fargo Bank, in Albuquerque, NM. She was in New York for a business trip.
Riordan has been described as a devoted mother to her children.
Albuquerque mayor Tim Keller issued a statement addressing the death of Riordan. In the statement, Keller described Riordan as a "thoughtful leader" and as someone "who has long been part of the fabric of our community."
Mayor Keller also urged people to provide Riordan's family with privacy and respect as they go through this ordeal.
Southwest Airlines has also issued a statement on the incident. The company stated that it is "deeply saddened" by the death of one of their passengers, Fox News reported.
The company is also offering its "deepest, heartfelt sympathy" to the people affected by the events that transpired. The company also mentioned that it has already deployed its emergency response team and is now in the process of providing the resources needed to support the individuals who have been affected by the unfortunate incident.
To this point, questions are still being asked about what exactly caused the explosion.
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt talked about the incident during a press conference held at the same Philadelphia airport that Flight 1380 landed at following the explosion.
According to Sumwalt, the incident that just occurred is "very unusual." Sumwalt also mentioned that they are examining the incident "extremely seriously."
An investigation into the incident is taking place, but Sumwalt noted during his press conference that it may take around 12 to 15 months to be completed. The findings from that investigation will be used to enact new safety measures designed to prevent a similar incident from taking place again.
Some of the passengers on the flight were able to document the terrifying moments they experienced immediately after the explosion of the airplane's engine.
A report from Gizmodo highlights a picture posted by Twitter user Joe Marcus that appears to show what the engine looked like following the explosion and the emergency landing.
Another passenger named Marty Martinez used Facebook to broadcast the events on the flight as they were happening in real-time. One of the videos seems to show Martinez trying to put on the oxygen mask while another shows rows of passengers trying to figure out what to do as the same masks hang down from their compartments.
Martinez also provided other images and captions that hint at what the passengers of the flight experienced.
More details about Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 should be made available in the near future.
