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Passenger killed in Southwest engine explosion was partially sucked out of plane's broken window

southwest airlines emergency landing
An audio recording obtained by NBC contains an exchange in which the flight's pilot says she was told a passenger "went out" of the aircraft while it was in the air. Mark Makela / Reuters
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  • The passenger killed Tuesday in an engine accident on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was partially sucked out of a broken window, The New York Times reported.
  • The Times cited another passenger, Max Kraidelman, as saying passengers and flight attendants were able to pull the woman back into the aircraft.
  • Another passenger was said to have positioned his back against the opening in the cabin for 20 minutes and reported feeling severe pressure.

The passenger killed Tuesday in the engine accident on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 had been partially sucked out of the plane's broken window, The New York Times reported.

The flight from New York to Dallas had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia after its left engine exploded in midair. Southwest said one passenger died and seven others were injured. The Associated Press identified the passenger who was killed as Jennifer Riordan, 43.

Passengers interviewed by The Times described a frightening scene after the explosion.

"The top half of her torso was out the window," a passenger identified as Max Kraidelman told The Times of the woman who was killed. "There was a lot of blood because she was hit by some of the shrapnel coming off the engine after it exploded."

Kraidelman said that other passengers and flight attendants were able to pull the woman back into the aircraft but that she was unconscious and had significant injuries.

He said CPR was performed on the woman and a defibrillator was also used on her as the plane made its emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport.

Another passenger, identified as Matt Tranchin, said a fellow passenger positioned his back against the opening in the cabin for 20 minutes and reported feeling severe pressure.

An audio recording obtained by NBC contained an exchange between the flight's pilot and air traffic control in which the pilot said she was told a passenger "went out" of the aircraft while it was in the air.

The National Transportation Safety Board's chairman, Robert Sumwalt, said the death on the flight was the first in a US passenger airline accident in over nine years. Before Tuesday, the most recent fatal accident came in February 2009 near Buffalo, New York, when an aircraft operated by the now-defunct regional airline Colgan Air crashed. Fifty people were killed in that crash, including one person on the ground.

The NTSB sent a team to Philadelphia to investigate the crash on Tuesday. The agency said a full investigation would take 12 to 15 months.

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I'm a senior transportation reporter at Insider covering electric vehicles, automated-driving technology, and ride-hailing. I joined Insider in October 2017 and previously worked as an intern at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with degrees in film and media studies and business economics. You can follow me on Twitter @matousekmark and email me at mmatousek@bjinnox.com.  If you have sensitive information you'd like to share and don't feel comfortable sending it to my work email or via a direct-message on Twitter, you can contact me on the encrypted messaging app Signal at 646-768-4712 or email my encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com. Here's some of my work: Uber insiders are divided over Dara Khosrowshahi's leadership, with some worried the company has become 'boring' and 'confused' about its future Nikola founder Trevor Milton convinced the world he was the next Elon Musk. Insiders say a history of lies brought the billionaire down. 17 hours a day, 7 days a week: Cruise-ship workers describe the grueling conditions they face on the job We talked to 42 insiders about Tesla's factory of the future. They revealed the corners cut to hit ambitious production targets. 70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon Musk Tesla is transforming how cars are sold. But 27 insiders say the company's methods mean slashed pay and living under the constant threat of getting laid off. Uber insiders reveal how DoorDash stole its delivery crown and left Eats in the dust Uber's trying no-meeting Mondays to give employees a break from 'tiring' back-to-back meetings, a leaked email reveals Leaked email reveals a Tesla VP expressed concern about employees coming to work with COVID-19 symptoms Leaked document reveals Nikola flip-flopped on whether it would spend any of its $17 million of customer deposits to fund the Nikola One Insiders reveal Alibaba's Jack Ma sought a partnership with Canoo to build electric delivery vans, but the deal fell flat because the startup couldn't meet his aggressive timeline Leaked email from Elon Musk reveals the Model Y is experiencing production 'challenges' while passing the Model 3 as the top priority at Tesla's US car factory Leaked email and audio reveal Carnival-owned Holland America has struggled to give refunds to some customers Leaked documents reveal the severance packages laid off Carnival UK workers will receive Inside Tesla's overhaul plan for its sales and delivery teams to solve one of its toughest customer challenges