This is a Southwest record no one wanted to see broken. Ever.
Southwest Airlines had gone some 47 years—its entire existence—without a single passenger death attributable to an accident.
That changed tragically today after Flight 1380—New York LaGuardia to Dallas Love Field—blew its number one engine, sending metal fragments that penetrated the passenger cabin.
At least one window was shattered, the occupant of the seat beside the window partially sucked out of the 737-700 according to eyewitnesses. The United States National Transportation Safety Board says the woman died.
READ: one passenger killed, seven injured in Southwest engine explosion.
The captain executed an emergency landing at Philadelphia International where 144 passengers and five crew were taken to the terminal.
The NTSB is investigating the accident. They’ll be focusing on the aircraft’s left, portside, powerplant which appeared to suffer an uncontained engine explosion. Jet engines are designed so that in the event of engine problems a protective casement will not allow fragments to escape the engine and penetrate the fuselage or fuel tanks.
The engine in this accident, a CFM56-7B is a proven industry workhouse. That’s what compounds the rarity of Tuesday’s accident. In a company statement, manufacturer CFM said the sophisticated, high-bypass turbofan powerplant has “compiled an outstanding safety and reliability record since entering revenues service in 1997 while powering more than 6,700 aircraft worldwide.”
“The engine has accumulated more than 350 million flight hours as one of the most reliable and popular jet engines in airline history.”
Southwest’s other fatal accident occurred at icy Chicago Midway Airport December 8, 2005, when a Southwest 737-300 skidded on an icy runway at MDW, hitting a car on a street adjacent to the airport. One child in the vehicle died.
The other death Southwest experienced occurred March 11, 2000. That’s when a passenger broke through the cockpit door of the 737. He was forcibly subdued by crew and passengers and later died of his injuries.
