Sothwest emergency landing after plane part went missing

One dead in Southwest flight horror after woman was almost sucked out of a plane at 32,000ft when the engine exploded and smashed a window before she was dragged back in by passengers

• The engine exploded on the Boeing 737-700 and sent shrapnel flying back towards the passenger window 
• One person is dead but it is not known if they are the woman who was sucked towards the open window 
• She was taken to hospital in a critical condition at Philadelphia International Airport when the plane landed
• It was a flight from New York to Dallas but the female pilot was forced to make an emergency landing 
• Other passengers on board said someone suffered a cardiac arrest and died on the plane 
• They filmed themselves as the oxygen masks descended and as they said goodbye to their loved ones  

  

One person is dead after an engine exploded on a Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday, sending a piece of shrapnel flying back into a window which caused the woman sitting next to it to be nearly sucked out of the aircraft. 

 

National Transport Safety Bureau Chairman Robert Sumwalt confirmed on Tuesday morning that one person died on the flight. 

 

It is not known if the victim is the same woman who was nearly drawn out of the window when it smashed at 11.15am and who had to be pulled back into her seat by other passengers. 

She was taken to hospital immediately after the flight from New York to Dallas made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport at 11.27am. 

 

There were unconfirmed reports from other passengers that someone suffered a heart attack on the plane and died. 

 

The woman in a critical condition was taken to hospital. Twelve others were assessed and seven of them had minor injuries.   

 

The Boeing 737-700 was traveling at 32,500ft when the engine on the left side of the plane exploded. 

 

Passengers said they heard a loud 'boom' and the plane immediately dropped, they said, by what felt like 100ft.  The woman sitting next to the smashed window was drawn towards it and others next to her held her down for 12 minutes until the plane landed. 

Scroll down for videos 

This is the window which was shattered by a piece of shrapnel from an exploding engine on a Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday morning. Witnesses said the female passenger sitting next to it was partially sucked out of the aircraft through the whole and had to be held down 

 

This was the view from on board the Southwest Airlines flight of the blown-out engine after the plane made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport. A piece of shrapnel from it flew backwards and shattered the window 

 

The window that was shattered was behind the engine that exploded. A piece of shrapnel flew backwards and pierced it, depressurizing the cabin and almost sucking the woman in the seat through it 

 

Before the NTSB's announcement that there was one fatality involved, the Philadelphia Fire Commissioner said she was taken to hospital in a critical condition. 

 

'One passenger, a woman, was partially drawn out towards the out of the plane, she was pulled back in by other passengers,' Todd Bauer, the father of another passenger on board, told NBC 10.   

Terrified passengers shared videos and photos from on board before the plane landed as they descended at 3,000ft per minute until they leveled out at 10,000ft. 

 

The female pilot, named by passengers as Tammy Jo Shults, called air traffic control and asked for paramedics to meet them, saying: 'We have a part of the aircraft missing.' 

 

Asked if the plane was on fire, she said: 'No, it's not on fire but part of it's missing. They said there is a hole and someone went out.' 

One passenger filmed himself as he fitted his oxygen mask. 'Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down! 

'Emergency landing!! Southwest flight from NYC to Dallas!!' Marty Martinez said as he broadcast live from the plane on Facebook. 

He paid $8 to connect to WiFi as the plane was going down, he said, in order to say his goodbyes.

 

This was the row of seats where the window was shattered. According to witnesses, passengers had to pull the woman back into the aircraft when she was sucked towards the window and some of her body was drawn through it

 

Passenger Marty Martinez shared photographs and videos of himself on Facebook as the plane made its descent. He and other passengers are shown terrified as they hold their oxygen masks to their faces. He later said there was 'blood everywhere' as a result of the woman's injuries 

 

He is the passenger who later told CBS the woman's injuries left 'blood everywhere.' There were confused reports from other passengers that someone on board suffered a heart attack.  

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES STATEMENT  

We are deeply saddened to confirm that there is one fatality resulting from this accident. 

The entire Southwest Airlines Family is devastated and extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the Customers, Employees, Family Members, and loved ones affected by this tragic event. 

 

We have activated our emergency response team and are deploying every resource to support those affected by this tragedy. 

Martinez added that the plane 'smelled like ash' once the window was open. He said flight attendants rushed over in shock and pleaded with passengers to cover up the hole.  

 

The first sign of trouble was a loud noise which happened when the engine exploded. 

Timothy Bourman, 37, was sitting at the back of the plane when he said he heard a loud 'boom'. 

'All the sudden, it felt like we dropped 100 feet. Everybody knew something’s going on. 

"This is bad, like really bad." A lot of people started panicking and yelling, just real scared.

'We were kind of out of control for a while. It seemed like the pilot was having a hard time controlling the plane. Honestly I think we just all thought we were going down,' he told Philly.com. 

Bourman, who was traveling with his wife, said they thought they were about to die until the pilot managed to gain control of the aircraft. 

 

'We’re just all really thankful to be alive right now. Thankful to God, thankful to that pilot,' he added. 

 

Firefighters rushed onto the aircraft after it made its emergency landing at 11.30am on Tuesday 

Matt Tranchin was sitting three rows behind the window that smashed. 

 

He described the chaos and said even the flight attendants were crying in fear. 

 

'Flight attendants rushed up. There was momentary chaos. Everyone kind of descended on where this hole was. As passengers we weren't sure if they were trying to cover up the hole, but the plane smelled like smoke. 

 

 Some of the crew couldn't hold back their horror... some were crying as they looked through the open window and onto the engine

 

'There was ash coming through the ventilation system. We started dropping,' he told ABC News. 

'As kind of an indication of how terrifying it was, some of the crew couldn't hold back their horror. 

'And some were crying as they looked out through the open window onto the engine,' he added. 

As the plane made its descent towards Philadelphia, the crew warned passengers

 to brace for impact.  

 

Southwest Airlines has not acknowledged the woman's injuries.  

In a statement it put out on Twitter, the airline said: 'Southwest Airlines flight 1380, which departed LaGuardia for Dallas Love Field , diverted to PHL because of an operational event. 

'The plane landed safely. No slides were deployed.' 

 

It has given no further comment on the injured woman or what caused the engine to explode.  

When the shrapnel pierced the window, it depressurized the cabin and triggered the oxygen masks. Despite the chaos in the air, others said the emergency landing was fairly calm and smooth. 

 

 

One of the plane's engines exploded not long after it had left LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Tuesday morning. The damaged engine is visible above after the plane had landed

 

All of the other passengers on board were evacuated after the injured woman was taken away by paramedics 

 

'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

 

The plane was on its way from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Dallas when it diverted in the air and turned back on itself to go to Philadelphia. It was flying over western Pennsylvania at around 32,500ft at the time 

 

The faulty engine was almost entirely exposed after the plane had landed 

 

One passenger told CNN: 'It was a stable landing. We started descending, made the turn back to Philadelphia. 

'We were with one engine for maybe 10 minutes. 

'We decreased altitude from 8,000 to 5,000 and then when we finally landed it was relatively smooth, kind of a typical landing so the crew and the pilots did a fantastic job.' 

Passengers were taken from buses to the airport.  It is not the first time the malfunction has occurred on a Southwest-operated Boeing 737-700. 

In August last year, a different flight from New Orleans to Orlando was forced to make an emergency landing at Pensacola Airport in Florida after the casing surrounding one of its engines tore away at a similar altitude. 

On Tuesday, the airline manufacturer said it was aware of the accident and was prepared to cooperate with investigations. 

'Boeing is aware of an incident with Southwest Airlines flight #1380. 

'We are gathering more information and stand ready to provide technical assistance,' it tweeted.

The engine which exploded is a CFM56 turbofan engine which costs $10million and has a fan diameter of 68 inches. 

The engines are the most popular engines on single aisle commercial planes and are used by all of Airbus A320 aircraft.

‘BigCoin’: Major Budget Airline AirAsia is Developing a Cryptocurrency

   Popular budget airline Air Asia has confirmed plans to foray into the fintech sector with the launch of a proprietary cryptocurrency called BigCoin.

   In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, AirAsia founder and chief executive Tony Fernandes underlined the airline’s plan to expand into new markets alongside the launch of BigCoin, a proprietary cryptocurrency that will see its own initial coin offering (ICO). It remains to be seen AirAsia is developing its own blockchain or intends to use an existing blockchain platform for BigCoin.
Based in Malaysia, Air Asia is south-east Asia’s largest budget airline by passenger traffic. The airline will turn its frequent flyer points into BigCoin, Fernandes said, before revealing that ticket prices on the airline’s website will be revealed in BigCoin alongside prices in fiat currencies from this month onwards.

   Fernandes, who sees cryptocurrencies as a ‘tool to alleviate currency fluctuation risks from overseas revenue’ forsees BigCoin being accepted by third-party businesses beyond its own operations. Following its launch, customers will be able to use BigCoin to pay for in-flight meals, seat upgrades and other services within 3-6 months, he added.

   AirAsia first announced its Fintech program dubbed ‘The Big’ in mid-2017 with the intent to provide banking and financial services and facilitate in-flight purchases for over 60 million annual passengers. Last month, Fernandes revealed plans toward an initial coin offering (ICO) that he expects will curb exchange and settlement risks.

   AirAsia joins the likes of Singapore Airlines this year in tapping blockchain technology for frequent flyer programs. Singapore’s national airline notably announced plans to deploy its own private blockchain following a successful proof-of-concept (PoC) with technology partners Microsoft and KPMG earlier in February ahead of the launch of what it calls the ‘world’s first blockchain-based airline loyalty digital wallet’. To be made available to retail customers in by August 2018, the blockchain digital wallet mobile app will enable passengers to spend their air miles as value in point-of-sale transactions at participating retail merchants.

Use Crypto currencies to pay for your plane ticket

   Zhang Gangwei, the airline’s president, commented: “The widespread use of cryptocurrency in various scenarios will usher in a new future for the airline business, lodging industry, OTA (Online Travel Agent) and the entire tourism sector. FAT is about to be the number one in the industry to embrace cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.”

 Asia is probably the most cryptocurrency receptive part of the world where, in addition to a strong bitcoin trading mania, you can already find many regular companies accepting crypto payments to attract new clients. Asian consumers now have yet another way to spend their bitcoin: buying flight tickets for travel around the region.

 

   FAT Taiwan Inc., the company behind the Far Eastern Air Transport brand, has announced that it will accept crypto payments for tickets, making it the first Taiwanese airline to allow its clients to fly for cryptocurrency. The airline says it will fully accept cryptocurrency for the payment of tickets and all relevant services, with the aim of becoming a pioneer of cryptocurrency adoption in the aviation industry.

   Far Eastern Air currently operates flight services around east and southeast Asia, including lines to several cities in China and Japan, Cambodia, the Philippines, and South Korea as well as a number of destinations across Taiwan. According to its announcement (text in Chinese), passengers will now be able to enjoy a more convenient and “discounted” booking experience using cryptocurrency as they purchase from its over 20,000 flights a year and all related travel products of the company.

   Considering its home and target markets, it is no surprise that the airline wants to be seen as a crypto pioneer. Besides the regional media attention that it will no doubt bring, accepting cryptocurrency payments will hopefully attract the many passionate bitcoin traders and users that Asian countries, Japan and South Korea specially right now, are known for.

   And if you are a crypto flyer and looking for a place to land, it was just reported that a South Korean travel website with over 50,000 hotels and other types of accommodation facilities will also accept cryptocurrency payments.

Easyjet is Berlin’s new ‘home carrier’

   CEO Johann Lundgren said in Berlin last week that Easyjet will offer 16 million seats to and from Tegel and Schönefeld this summer. In 2017, the airline had some 3.5 million passengers on its flights to and from Schönefeld, where 12 planes are based, and expects to increase this number by 60% to 5.6 million passengers this year thanks to the Tegel expansion.

Easyjet has moved quickly to fill the gap left by Air Berlin after spending €40 million to take over 25 planes from the insolvent carrier along associated slots at Berlin-Tegel airport. The British airline launched flights from the German capital’s main airport in January and has steadily added flights since then.
Under the summer 2018 schedule, it is now offering more than 100 routes from Tegel and Schönefeld to domestic and European destinations, including 28 exclusive routes. Domestic frequencies have been increased while new international routes include holiday destinations such as Alicante, Biarritz, Corfu, Faro, Menorca and Pula.


   Part of the growth will come from transfer passengers. Berlin-Tegel is one of seven new airports where the airline now offers transfer connections in addition to Gatwick and Milan Malpensa.

   Easyjet’s investments in Berlin go far beyond the initial €40 million for the 25 ex-Air Berlin jets. It will spend a further €112 million on repainting them in its corporate design, retraining former Air Berlin staff and other operational measures. In addition, the airline expects to spend about €68 million on the ongoing wet-lease deals with other carriers. However, Lundgren expects the airline to be operating only its own planes at Tegel by the start of the winter 2018/19 schedule.

   The British airline is also cooperating closely with authorities in the German capacity. It has signed a long-term partnership deal with the visitBerlin organisation for joint activities to promote incoming tourism to Berlin, including sales and marketing measures. The deal builds on the airline’s €5m advertising campaign to highlight its new services to and from Berlin Tegel.

   “Easyjet is our new home carrier,” declared Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, at a joint press conference with Easyjet executives. “The engagement by Easyjet is a great facilitator for the economic and the touristic development of Berlin, which is a great occasion to establish the first strategic partnership between the capital‘s official promotional organisation and an airline. With the hashtag #berlinwelcomesyou we will join forces to promote tourism in Europe to Berlin.”

   Thomas Haagensen, Easyjet’s Country Director for Germany, Austria & Switzerland, added: “Berlin is such an important destination in the German market and remains popular with our customers throughout the entire network. This first ever strategic partnership with visitBerlin will seek to explore different areas of collaboration in order to show everything Berlin has to offer to the great diversity of easyJet's passengers.”

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Airline says number of female pilots applying has 'increased'

   A report published by Ryanair has revealed a 67 per cent pay gap between male and female employees.

   Ryanair has 554 UK pilots, 586 UK cabin crew and 42 non crew members of staff. Some 1.4 per cent (eight) of its pilots are women, as are 69 per cent of the airline’s cabin crew.

    The airline is based in Ireland, and as such its management and administration teams are not taken into account in the report, which focuses solely on UK employees excluding Northern Ireland.

  
The report reveals that the median hourly pay gap is 71.8 per cent in favour of men.
“Because the majority of our UK pilots are male, on average, the hourly pay rate for male employees is 67 per cent higher than that for female employees,” says Ryanair in its report.

“The median hourly pay rate equivalent for male employees is 71.8 per cent higher than that for female employees.”

There was a 3.4 per cent median bonus pay gap between men and women, which was explained as a result of most pilots being male.

In a statement provided to The Independent, a Ryanair spokesman said: “Ryanair is an equal pay employer and we are proud of the thousands of professional men and women who work hard to deliver great service and Europe’s lowest fares to our customers. Like all airlines, our gender pay in the UK is materially affected by the relatively low numbers of female pilots in the aviation industry.

   Tomorrow is the deadline for companies with over 250 employees to report gender pay gaps within their business.

   The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 made it mandatory for companies with more than 250 employees to report on gender pay gaps.

   According to the ACAS website, employers have the opportunity to “provide a narrative” with their calculations, such as Ryanair’s explanation of its male/female pilot ratio, which can explain the reasons behind a gender pay gap and “give details about actions” the company is taking to reduce it.

EasyJet submitted its report in November 2017, arguing that its overall pay gap was due to gender imbalance among pilots rather than unequal pay.

    “Like all airlines, pilots make up a large proportion of easyJet’s employees, receive high salaries and most materially, 94 per cent are male,” the airline said at the time.

   The airline has a target for 20 per cent of its pilots to be women by 2020; it recruited 49 female new entrant co-pilots in 2017, a 48 per cent increase on the previous year.

Norwegian Air cancels its Belfast-US flights during winter months

The move comes less than a year after the airline started operating routes from Belfast International Airport to the greater New York and Boston areas.

Belfast is not the only city that will be affected. Norwegian is also suspending some of its routes from Cork, Shannon and Edinburgh for the winter.

The airline said it had made the decision to suspend the flights due to "lower demand".

Flights will stop at the end of October for Belfast.
"Following a comprehensive review of our services, we have decided to suspend flights from Edinburgh, Cork and Shannon to Providence in addition to the Belfast-New York route during the quieter winter period due to lower demand," they said.

 

inRead invented by Teads"The services will continue to assess our transatlantic route performance as we confirm the route schedule for next summer."

 

 When the budget airline announced its schedule of cheap flights to the US from Belfast in February last year, tickets sold in record time.

 

Within 24 hours of the announcement, more than 2,000 seats had been sold for the routes. There are no other direct airline routes which currently operate between Northern Ireland and the United States.

 

Speaking when the flights were launched, Norwegian chief executive Bjorn Kjos said the airline was delighted to have struck the deal.

 

"The cost of transatlantic travel has been too high for too long, so by connecting Northern Ireland with smaller US airports, we can offer some truly affordable fares, allowing as many people as possible to fly," he added.

 

Norwegian flies to non-hub US airports and replicates the Ryanair model on transatlantic routes.

In February last year, the then-economy minister Simon Hamilton said his department would be providing "financial support" to Norwegian in the deal, although the exact value of this support was not revealed.

The department said they would be providing "marketing support" to the airline for the next three years "on the basis of a 50/50 matched funding split - ie 50% from the airline."

Prior to Norwegian launching its routes from Belfast, United Airlines ran Northern Ireland's only direct link to the US for years before poor financial performance rendered it unsustainable.

A £9 million rescue deal agreed by Stormont and United collapsed a few months before the route was halted because the financial package breached EU state rules.

The route between Belfast International Airport and Newark Airport first began in 2005, operated by Continental Airlines.

United took over the operation of the route in 2012 following a merger between the airline and Continental.

Last month it emerged that Norwegian has applied for permission to fly to Canadian airports and could launch services from the Republic of Ireland this summer.

It has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency for an international licence to operate a service between member states of the EU and Canada.
Meanwhile, Dublin Airport is currently running Norwegian Air flights to the greater New York area all year round.