Mid-air horror as engine torn apart

Startled passengers on board Flight 3472 heard blast to the aircraft’s left at altitude of 30,700 feet

Over 100 people on board US’ Southwest Airlines flight had a lucky escape when a part of the plane’s engine was ripped off thousands of feet above the Gulf of Mexico with the passengers experiencing anxious moments before the jet managed to make an emergency landing.

The Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando, Florida, was forced to make an emergency landing in Pensacola after one of its engines fell apart over the Gulf of Mexico, the New York Daily News reported.

Startled passengers on board Flight 3472 heard a frightening blast to the aircraft’s left at an altitude of 30,700 feet. Outside their windows, they saw smoke fuming from the exposed turbine blades at around 9:20am on Saturday.

“All of a sudden, outside my window, there was a loud explosion, and then the plane started shuddering,” passenger Tami Richards told KOCO-TV.

Chunks of the engine’s cowling had fallen off, according to photos taken from the aircraft’s window midflight. Another photo shows a metal object had pierced the fuselage.

“Today, the Captain of Flight #3472 from New Orleans to Orlando made the decision to divert to Pensacola due to a mechanical issue with the number one engine. The flight landed safely without incident at Pensacola International Airport at 9:40am,” the Southwest Airlines said in a statement.