One Person Dies as Southwest Jet Makes Emergency Landing in Philadelphia

By Austen Hufford and Scott Calvert

One person died after a Southwest Airlines flight suffered an apparent engine failure and made an emergency landing Tuesday in Philadelphia, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 suffered the engine failure en route to Dallas from New York City, the NTSB said.

More than 140 passengers and five crew members were aboard the Boeing 737-700, according to the agency.

The death marks the first U.S. airline fatality since 2009.

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a news conference that the agency believed parts came off the engine, though he emphasized the investigation continued.

The flight declared an alert around 11:15 a.m. and landed in Philadelphia around 11:27., according to Chellie Cameron, chief executive of the Philadelphia Division of Aviation.

From the jet, passenger Matt Tranchin called his wife, Molly, who is pregnant with their first child.

"He said he was so sorry and that the plane was going down and he didn't know exactly what was wrong, and that he loved me," she said. "I could hear people in the background screaming. It was just horrible."

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said the jet sustained damage to the fuselage and part of the wings.

"It is our understanding that the passengers on board the aircraft, in addition to the flight crew and the cabin crew, did some pretty amazing things under very difficult circumstances," he said.

Boeing said it was aware of the event and was providing technical assistance in the investigation.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com and Scott Calvert at scott.calvert@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2018 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)

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