One Dead After Engine Explodes Mid-air on Southwest Flight

A window on the plane was blown apart.·Travel+Leisure
Talia Avakian
Updated
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UPDATED: April 17, 3:20 p.m. ET

One person is dead and several others are injured after a jet engine on a Southwest Airlines plane exploded mid-air and shrapnel broke through a window in the plane cabin.

Flight 1380 to Dallas diverted to Philadelphia on Tuesday after one of the plane’s jet engines exploded shortly after the flight took off, passengers and air traffic controllers told local NBC affiliate WCAU. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

“There was blood everywhere,” passenger Marty Martinez told CBS News. In addition to the fatality, seven more passengers were treated for minor injuries at the scene, officials from the Philadelphia Fire Department and Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management said. There were 143 passengers and five crew onboard, according to Southwest.

Tod Baur, whose daughter-in-law was on the plane, told NBC that the woman was “drawn out” of the plane when the window broke open, at which point other passengers pulled her back.

Photos taken by passengers show the damage to the Boeing 737-700.

Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board are sending a team to investigate the incident further, while Southwest Airline representatives said they are also investigating.

While planes are once again darting from the Philadelphia International Airport, airport representatives said travelers should expect delays.

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