US: Plane makes emergency landing after engine failure

WASHINGTON

A Southwest Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after its engine blew out on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and several injured.

The Boeing 737 was en route from New York City to Dallas when the engine exploded at about 30,000 feet.

Debris from the engine flew into the window, breaking it and killing a passenger who was sitting nearby, the first passenger fatality in a U.S. airline accident since 2009, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt.

A female passenger was also "partially sucked out" of one of the plane's windows due to depressurization, according to passenger accounts and local media reports. When the passenger was halfway out of the plane, she was pulled back in by other passengers.

Nine others were rinjured, according to local media reports.

A Southwest Airlines statement said the plane, which was carrying 143 passengers and five crewmembers, diverted due to "an operational event" but photos appeared to show engine damage.

Firefighters were on the scene helping evacuate passengers off the plane on the tarmac at Philadelphia International Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a tweet that it was aware of the incident and gathering information.

Reports of shrapnel shattering a window indicate that the engine broke apart in what is known as an “uncontained” failure.

U.S. regulations require engines to be covered in tough casings designed to prevent metal from flying into fuel tanks and passenger areas if an engine breaks apart.