Southwest incident today

[NotUrsula]

It was a bizarre freak accident that the window was hit. "Uncontained engine failure" has happened before, but having a piece of shrapnel just the right size and with the right trajectory to take out a window was a one in a million chance. Terrible.

Based on the reports that I have heard, it appears that the woman who died might have been unconscious from the moment of the decompression, which if true, is at least a small blessing.

The crew deserve a great deal of praise for the safe landing of the flight and the small number of additional injuries. The NTSB will be combing every inch of the flight path looking for what fell in order to determine what happened; the work that their teams do to reconstruct accidents is amazing.

 

[Hikergirl]

Why is the pilot referred to as a female pilot throughout the article?

Because if they hadn't when people tell the story about it they will refer to the pilot as "him" and then there will be complaints about how society always assumes that men are pilots.......

So sad that she died, I didn't read that at first. Thought and prayers to her family, and to those people on the plane.

 

[Iya]

Not really...airframes are built to withstand such incidents. The plane is still intact and probably could have flown another hour or two on one engine if no emergency landing site was readily available.

ABC news confirmed the fatality is the women who was partially pulled from the plane.

Not when the cabin is breached/depressurized and oxygen masks have dropped. They have to get down ASAP. That is why passengers said the descent felt like a free fall. It was intentional

 

[jdb in AZ]

Not when the cabin is breached/depressurized and oxygen masks have dropped. They have to get down ASAP. That is why passengers said the descent felt like a free fall. It was intentional

One of the passengers said they landed so hard he thought they'd hit a building. The descent from 30,000 ft in 5 mins with major turbulence all the way must have been beyond terrifying.

 

[roxanne_kliebert]

We will continue to fly Southwest. They are the most affordable and the employees are wonderful when dealing with any issue. We send prayers to the family who's loved one lost their life.

 

[arminnie]

I'm glad that they said "female" pilot to give credit that women pilots are just as capable (if not more so) than the males. People need to know that. They should just "know that" but that is not reality unfortunately.

One can wish that there were not idiots who don't have confidence in "other" types of people, but it helps when those people are forced to accept reality. There are people out there (fortunately a lot less as years go by) who think that competent people are male and of a certain racial and even religious background. Forcing them to see that accomplished professionals do not have to have any particular gender, racial, religious or sexual preferences is a good thing.

I am in my 70s. I've seen some of the worst prejudice, but I've also seen people realize how wrong they were when confronted with reality.

 

[bcla]

It was a bizarre freak accident that the window was hit. "Uncontained engine failure" has happened before, but having a piece of shrapnel just the right size and with the right trajectory to take out a window was a one in a million chance. Terrible.

Maybe not that much of a freak occurrence once the engine exploded the way it did. There were pieces that tore into the fuselage and probably would taken out a different window with a slightly different trajectory.

 

[low-key]

Sounds like everyone from crew to people on board were heroes. I didnt know to read this in the Dis that the Pilot was a women , very cool. I dont think I ever had a women Pilot

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I also think it's noteworthy that the pilot was a woman. It's good for everyone to see that she was able to land the plane safely despite a rather major incident in the air. I'm proud of her (as I was Sullenberger) and can't wait to learn more about her! As mentioned, most pilots are men. In some places, women aren't even allowed to drive cars.

Looks like some info is coming out now:

Tammi Jo Shults

http://www.newsweek.com/who-tammie-jo-shuts-pilot-who-landed-southwest-890124

Shults was one of the first female fighter pilots for the U.S. Navy.

A native of New Mexico and a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University.

 

[WDWBarb]

I fly quite often and have seen way more female pilots in the last few years. Always makes me happy.

My heart absolutely aches for this woman who lost her life (she must have been terrified ...) and for everyone who tried to save her. How awful to find out that she had died after they went to such extents ...

 

[RedAngie]

Not when the cabin is breached/depressurized and oxygen masks have dropped. They have to get down ASAP. That is why passengers said the descent felt like a free fall. It was intentional

Of course the dive was intentional. They needed to get to a certain altitude where O2 masks aren't necessary and pressure equalizes. But once at that altitude the plane was airworthy and capable of further flight. Say, for example, the plane was flying over the middle of Wyoming when the engine had a blowout. The plane would have been able to fly to Denver or another suitable airport. An immediate landing wasn't necessary for the survival of the plane. For the survival of injured passengers, yes, but not the plane.

Heck, despite its age, Southwest might even decide to repair the plane rather than scrap it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Why is the pilot referred to as a female pilot throughout the article?

In the article linked in the OP, there was one reference near the end, of the pilot being female.

'Heroes': Passengers thanked the five crew members on board for saving their lives. According to witnesses, the female pilot told them to brace for impact before she made the 'smooth' emergency landing

 

[nycdisneygal]

Wow the pilot and crew did a great job. I was reading recently Southwest has great pilots.
So sad for the woman and her family...

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Perhaps because it's still considered somewhat unusual for an airline to have female pilots.

I believe this is Southwest's first fatality.

First passenger fatality due to a incident in flight. Some years back a Southwest plane ran out of runway upon landing at Chicago Midway airport and hit a car on the perimeter street, killing a boy in a car.

I'm hearing that the woman who was partially suctioned out was severely injured but survived the landing, dying of a heart attack while in or on the way to a hospital.

The "female pilot" is a well-trained professional who, without hesitation, knew exactly what to do in the situation and performed her duties flawlessly.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

One of the passengers said they landed so hard he thought they'd hit a building. The descent from 30,000 ft in 5 mins with major turbulence all the way must have been beyond terrifying.

Other passengers have said it was a smooth landing. No doubt it was terrifying, but in many cases, such incidents produce exaggerated accounts. Many passengers don't understand what is happening and fear the worst.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Other passengers have said it was a smooth landing. No doubt it was terrifying, but in many cases, such incidents produce exaggerated accounts. Many passengers don't understand what is happening and fear the worst.

I saw mentioned that there was a lot of blood and chaos around, and even some of the crew were crying, for lack of a better word. One of the ways I always calm myself on a flight (as I don't really like to fly) is by watching the flight attendants go about their work chatting and such. Altough I think it's a natural reaction, if I saw them crying I'd definitely be thinking we were goners! Omg.

I was also thinking about the times we live in when I read that one guy attempted to sign up for and connect to WiFi when he thought the plane was going down so he could follow news stories!

 

[Iya]

I saw mentioned that there was a lot of blood and chaos around, and even some of the crew were crying, for lack of a better word. One of the ways I always calm myself on a flight (as I don't really like to fly) is by watching the flight attendants go about their work chatting and such. Altough I think it's a natural reaction, if I saw them crying I'd definitely be thinking we were goners! Omg.

I was also thinking about the times we live in when I read that one guy attempted to sign up for and connect to WiFi when he thought the plane was going down so he could follow news stories!

Videos show a pretty quiet plane, considering. Not chaotic at all.

 

[marthachick]

Prayers for all involved.
PS Flying with my dad tomorrow on Southwest. He hasn’t been on a plane since 1990. He was talking about this today. I think it made him a little nervous.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Videos show a pretty quiet plane, considering. Not chaotic at all.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/04/17/southwest-emergency-landing-passenger-chaos-crying-hysterically/

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/04/17/southwest-airlines-passenger-emergency-landing/

http://abc7news.com/passenger-account-from-inside-southwest-plane-/3357230/

 

[mummabear]

In the article linked in the OP, there was one reference near the end, of the pilot being female.

Article has been updated with new details.
The article linked originally had 2 references (which were the only 2 mentioning the pilot at all) including 1 of the bikers headline bullet points.