Woman ‘sucked out of window’ in plane drama
A SOUTHWEST AIRLINES jet apparently blew an engine at about 30,000ft and was then hit by shrapnel that smashed a window and damaged the fuselage yesterday, killing a passenger and injuring seven others, authorities said.
A relative of a passenger told a TV station that one woman was injured when she was partially sucked out of a window near the afflicted engine before being pulled back into the aircraft by other passengers.
The plane, a Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia as passengers breathing through oxygen masks prayed and braced for impact.
“I just remember holding my husband’s hand, and we just prayed and prayed and prayed,” said passenger Amanda Bourman, of New York.
“And the thoughts that were going through my head of course were about my daughters, just wanting to see them again and give them a big hug so they wouldn’t grow up without parents.”
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Robert Sumwalt said one person was killed.
Seven other people were treated for minor injuries, Philadelphia fire commissioner Adam Thiel said.
Ms Bourman said she was asleep when she heard a loud noise and oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. She said the plane was fairly quiet because everyone was wearing a mask, while some passengers were in tears and others shouted words of encouragement.