NPR

LISTEN: Southwest Pilot Coolly Plans One-Engine, Emergency Landing

"We have a part of the aircraft missing, so we're going to need to slow down a bit," the pilot told air traffic controllers as she prepared to land with nearly 150 people onboard.
Southwest Flight 1380 made a sharp detour after an engine blew out and depressurized the cabin, as shown in this flight track from the FlightAware site.

Southwest pilot Tammie Jo Shults is being praised for her cool demeanor after her plane suffered a blown engine — killing one passenger — and she was forced to make a one-engine, emergency landing in Philadelphia with nearly 150 people onboard Tuesday.

In the midst of calamity, passengers on Flight 1380 used their phones to send texts to loved ones and share news of their desperate state.

"Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down!" passenger Marty Martinez wrote in the caption of a livestream video, showing himself breathing through a mask.

In the cockpit of the Boeing 737 en route from New York

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min read
Here's This Year's List Of The Most Endangered Historic Places In The U.S.
The National Trust's annual list includes Eatonville, the all-Black Florida town memorialized by Zora Neale Hurston, Alaska's Sitka Tlingit Clan houses, and the home of country singer Cindy Walker.
NPR6 min readSocial History
For Many Missouri Catholics, Abortion Rights Means Choosing Between Faith, Politics
The state is shaping up to be big battleground over abortion rights in November. Research shows a majority of U.S. Catholics supports abortion rights — even though church leadership does not.
NPR2 min read
3 Salad Recipes To Segue From Winter To Spring
Think of these three salad recipes as an introduction to a new season, a combination of color, textures and bright spring flavors. They are light but substantial and satisfying enough to be a main course for lunch or dinner. 

Related Books & Audiobooks