“I saw parts flapping in the wind because it was right outside my window”, the woman added.
Advertisement
A Southwest flight from New Orleans to Orlando, Fla., was forced to make an emergency landing Saturday morning after passengers said an engine exploded while they were flying over open water in the Gulf of Mexico.
The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, told KOCO that the plane began to violently shake and descend rapidly.
Flight 3472 had just taken off from Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans when passengers said they heard an explosion.
“I held my kids, and one was freaking out, crying”.
The jet, a Boeing 737-700, landed in Pensacola around 9:40 am (local time) with no apparent injuries to the 99 passengers or five crew members on board, according to Southwest.
Passengers on the plane was placed on another flight, and were expected to arrive in Orlando at 9 p.m.
She said her father took two photos during the incident, one of the plane and its engine in mid-air and another when it landed. “The aircraft is out of service, and we will work to accommodate the passengers to Orlando or their final destination as soon as possible”.
Federal investigators are now trying to determine the cause of what a Southwest spokesperson described as an “mechanical issue with the number one engine”.
Advertisement
Southwest notified the safety board of the incident and, when authorized, will inspect the plane to assess the damage.
