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When Southwest Airlines flight 1380 suffered a fatal engine failure, more than 100 passengers on board and the flight crew believed they could be witnessing the final moments of their lives. That led to some eery and terrifying videos surfacing online as passengers documented what they thought was their last minutes on Facebook Live, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
One woman, Jennifer Riordan of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was killed in the accident which blew out one of the plane windows.
According to eyewitnesses, Riordan was nearly sucked out of the plane when the engine explosion knocked out a window.
Passenger Marty Martinez was among the most active to document the frightening situation.
https://twitter.com/ABC7NY/status/986284835554713601
He took to Twitter to write, “Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!! Southwest flight from NYC to Dallas!!”
Martinez later appeared on CNN to discuss the situation and recalled watching the woman who passed away in trouble.
“She wasn’t like sucked out of the window or pulled out,” he said. “But her like arms and her body were sucked, like sucked in that direction, from my vantage point. So you see people, from the back of the seat, holding onto her, you know, trying to keep her contained.”
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Martinez also shared a series of photos on Instagram that show the damage done to the plane when the window exploded.
“Engine exploded and shattered one of the windows critically injuring a passenger,” he wrote. “Flight attendants ran over calling for passengers to help cover the hole as they broke down and began uncontrollably crying and looking horrified as they looked outside. Plane dropped dramatically and it smelled like fire with ash coming down on everyone thru the vents. Absolutely terrifying. Had to do a crash landing in Philly. I Facebook LIVED the entire experience. I literally thought these were my last moments on earth. It was so terrifying!!”
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Another passenger shared a video from mid-air.
https://twitter.com/cassface321/status/986277478732914688
Here is how the Philadelphia Airport responded:
“PHL Update 12:35 PM: FAA has issued ground stop for planes on the ground at other airports waiting to depart for PHL. Check flight status with your airline. Flights are departing PHL. Passengers should expect delays.”
Our deepest condolences go out to those impacted by the tragic event.
