One person is dead after an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight today.
Southwest CEO, Gary Kelly, confirmed the fatality, which occurred on a flight from New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL).
There are few details about the passenger’s death, but the flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) after an engine failure.
The flight, Southwest Airlines flight 1380, made the emergency landing at 11:20 a.m. EDT.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), this the first passenger death on a U.S. airline in nine years.
If this ends up being the opening scene to Final Destination 13, I'm going to be really salty. #Flight1380 pic.twitter.com/feK7cPZS70
— Matt Tranchin (@mtranchin) April 17, 2018
A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports that the damage to the engine caused a window to break.
Twitter user, Matt Tranchin, shared photos of the plane's damage on the social media platform and accompanying reports claim the deceased passenger was partially pulled out of the aircraft's the window.
Audio from air traffic control, released by NBC, confirms those reports, as the pilot explains that “there is a hole and someone went out.“
"We have a part of the aircraft missing," Pilot of #Southwest1380 talks to air traffic control during emergency. More: https://t.co/V5Sz2sohKE pic.twitter.com/rvlOSBluUq
— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) April 17, 2018
Seven others were treated for minor injuries, but Kelly explained that none of them were serious.
The FAA is currently investigating the incident, but the NTSB will be taking it over.
NowMedia will update this story when more information becomes available.
