FAA Will Order Engine Inspections After Deadly Southwest Airlines Flight

A piece of shrapnel from the shredded engine crashed through one of the plane’s windows and 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan was almost sucked out of the aircraft. “Explosion critically injured woman sitting in the seat next to the window”, he added. This is the second engine failure for Southwest Airlines in two years. “I have been on many, many flights as a passenger, and an terrible lot of do not pay attention”.

“This fan blade was broken right at the hub, and our preliminary examination of this was there is evidence of metal fatigue where the blade separated”, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a news conference.

Boeing and CFM said they will help with the NTSB investigation into the incident. It is unclear how many planes will be affected by the FAA order. It was a smooth landing but the woman who was sucked out could not be saved.

The proposal would be more sweeping than federal authorities anticipated, Southwest said in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Sumwalt says the leading edge of the left wing suffered damage after the plane blew an engine. She was exposed to 600 mile per hour winds and died from blunt force impact to her head, neck and torso. The plane was scheduled to travel onto San Francisco, where it was to depart on Wednesday and land at Chicago Midway about 11 a.m.

Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) confirmed Friday it has sent $5,000 checks to passengers aboard a flight that made an emergency landing this week after an engine failed, killing a passenger.

Southwest’s Tuesday accident has not yet been classified as an uncontained failure. Late Wednesday, Southwest Airlines released a statement on behalf of Ellison and Capt. Tammie Jo Shults, who was also working on the flight.

The Boeing 737 was at 32,000 feet when the left engine exploded about 20 minutes after takeoff. Before that she was one of the first female fighter pilots in the US Navy for F-18 fighter jets. “Southwest did a great job in what was a horrific accident”, McGinty’s wife Kristin was quoted by Mail Online recalling the hair-raising accident.

“As a parent, I’ve said to my kids, “Be kind, loving, caring and sharing, and all good things will come to you”, she told the Albuquerque Journal when she accepted the award.

Jennifer Riordan was identified as the woman killed on the Southwest Airlines flight. None of the reports found any technical problems with the aircraft.

The engine’s cowling was found about 70 miles from where the plane landed, Sumwalt said.

Shults immediately diverted the plane to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

“Jennifer’s vibrancy, passion, and love infused our community and reached across our country”, her family said. “We are holding Jennifer and her family in our thoughts”.

Tributes to her, as well as to the pilot of the plane have been many, and strong. She worked for Wells Fargo in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to the bank, and is survived by her husband and two children.

Peggy Phillips spoke to WFAA-TV upon her arrival in Dallas Tuesday night. She and Mike wrote a love story unlike any other.

Southwest crews were inspecting similar engines the airline had in service, focusing on the 400 to 600 oldest of the CFM56 engines, made by a partnership of France’s Safran and General Electric, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.