NTSB Issues Findings On 2018 Fatal Flight That Landed In Philly

PHILADELPHIA — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued seven safety recommendations after investigating a 2018 Southwest Airlines flight that was forced to land at the Philadelphia International Airport after a woman was partially sucked out of the aircraft's window.

Jennifer Riordan, 43, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was was killed during the incident, which happened Tuesday, April 17, 2018 on Southwest Airlines flight #1380. Eight other passengers were injured.

The NTSB has determined the Boeing 737-700 jet , which was heading from New York to Dallas, had a fractured fan blade, causing the engine inlet and fan cowl to separate. That caused shrapnel to damage the fuselage and a window, leading to rapid cabin depressurization, the NTSB said.

Of the seven safety recommendations, five were issued to the Federal Aviation Administration, one to the European Aviation Safety Agency, and one to Southwest Airlines.

Those recommendations include requiring Boeing to find the dangerous areas of the engine fan case and redesign the fan cowl on all Boeing 737 planes, using the flight #1380 incident in flight attendant training, and others.

Following the incident, further investigation into those engines found 15 other cracked fan blades on planes flown by different airlines.

"This accident demonstrates that a fan blade can fail and release differently than that observed during engine certification testing and accounted for in airframe structural analyses," said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. "It is important to go beyond routine examination of fan blades; the structural integrity of the engine nacelle components for various airframe and engine combinations needs to be ensured."

See the full recommendations below:

FAA recommendations:

• Require Boeing to determine the critical fan blade impact location(s) on the CFM56-7B engine fan case and redesign the fan cowl structure on all Boeing 737.
• Require Boeing to install the redesigned fan cowl structure on new-production 737 next-generation-series airplanes.
• Require operators of Boeing 737 next-generation-series airplanes to retrofit their airplanes with the redesigned fan cowl structure.
• Expand federal regulation certification requirements so airplane and engine manufacturers work together to analyze all critical fan blade impact locations for all engine operating conditions, the resulting fan blade fragmentation, and the effects of the fan-blade-out-generated loads on the nacelle structure and develop a method to ensure that the analysis findings are fully accounted for in the design of the nacelle structure and its components.
• Develop and issue ways that air carriers can mitigate hazards to passengers affected by an in-flight loss of seating capacity.

Southwest Airlines recommendations:

• Use the lessons learned from the accident in flight attendant training, emphasizing the importance of being secured in a jumpseat during emergency landings.

European Aviation Safety Agency recommendation

• Expand certification requirements for transport-category airplanes and aircraft engines so airplane and engine manufacturers work together to analyze all critical fan blade impact locations for all engine operating conditions, the resulting fan blade fragmentation, and the effects of the fan-blade-out generated loads on the engine housing structure and develop a method to ensure that the analysis findings are fully accounted for in the design of the engine housing structure and its components.

While one person died and others were hurt, Captain Tammie Jo Shults, a former Navy fighter pilot, was hailed as a hero for her calm, collected demeanor during the emergency incident.

In the wake of the incident, Southwest Airlines issued $5,000 checks and $1,000 vouchers to all passengers aboard flight #1380.

Shortly after the flight landed, the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the ill-fated flight.