Stamford Man Recounts Terrifying Southwest Airlines Flight: Video

Stamford resident Jim Demetros is happy to back home after he was a passenger on Tuesday's terrifying Southwest Airlines flight where Jennifer Riordan, of Albuquerque, N.M., was partially sucked out of the plane when an engine exploded and shattered the window she was sitting next to.

Demetros, 56, was sitting three rows in front of the fatal incident, telling WTNH-TV that it was a "very harrowing experience, for sure." See the video below.

The plane, a 737 carrying about 150 passengers, was headed from New York to Dallas, but was forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia. According to flight tracking website FlightAware.com, the jet was at 32,500 feet when it began descending after the engine explosion.

Demetros said when the plane's oxygen masks were deployed, the crew did a great job of keeping passengers calm.

By then attention had already turned to Riordan, who was frantically dragged back into the plane by a pair of passengers. She was the flight's only fatality, but other passengers suffered minor injuries, writes the Connecticut Post.

According to a bio on Riordan from the United Way of Central New Mexico, Riordan is a mother of two and has been married to her husband for 21 years.

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an extensive investigation into the incident.

— Max Bennett, Patch Staff contributed to this report.

Image by frank_peters via Shutterstock

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