Earlier this morning, I interviewed iHeartRadio Aviation Expert, Jay Ratliff. He's with WLW in Cincinnati, and has been reporting on aviation for years. We talked about the recent incident on Southwest flight 1380, which resulted in the death of a passenger who was partially sucked out of a window. The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, apparently died of blunt force trauma.. That's the first time a death has occurred in US aviation since 2009.
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Jay and I talked about how calm the pilot, Tammy Jo Schults, was during this situation. Amazing situation handled well by everyone. Here's the audio. There's a lot to unpack in here, and the only portion of the audio I could where she became frustrated was when she was being passed through frequencies, or "freqs," as they are called. That was probably more about her not raising such a fuss about her situation until she got closer to Philly.
"Morning Brew" is a daily email I receive to help me keep on top of things for WMT Morning Show listeners. They had a great recap of this entire situation, and they have given me permission to post it here for you
"AVIATION
Apparently Jet Engines Get Tired, Too
After a passenger died following a chaotic (and live-streamed) Southwest Airlines (+2.86%) emergency landing on Tuesday, we're in full-on debrief mode about what exactly happened.
And it looks like "metal fatigue" might have a lot to do with it.
- Cracks forming on an engine's fan blades could have caused the 737-700's left engine to explode, sending shrapnel through a window and depressurizing the cabin. The victim was nearly sucked out of the window before other passengers reeled her back in.
- There are 24 fan blades in the engine. When investigators took a first glance, one of the blades was snapped off.
And it all comes back to the CFM56-7B engine.
The CFM56-7B? I feel like I've seen that before...
If you've looked out of a plane window recently, odds are you have.
Here's what you need to know about the CFM56 family:
- It's one of the most popular engines in the industry, especially among single-aisle Boeing and Airbus jets (the planes you take on most domestic flights). Per the WSJ, a plane with a CFM56 engine takes off every two seconds.
- It's the handiwork of CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.
- It's been in some trouble before. In 2016, a CFM56 engine failed on another Southwest flight, although no one was hurt.
Still, flying commercially in the U.S. is remarkably safe...
...and that shouldn't change. Tuesday marked the first fatality on a U.S. airline in almost a decade. But to make sure that track record remains squeaky clean, Southwest is starting enhanced inspections across its fleet of more than 700 planes. United is taking a look, too.
And finally, know this name: Tammie Jo Shults, the pilot who successfully landed the plane in Philadelphia. If you listen to the audio from the cockpit, Captain Shults calmly discusses the situation with Air Traffic Control, all while maintaining "nerves of steel," according to one passenger.
Turns out, that's what you learn as one of the first female fighter pilots in the Navy."
Courtesy, "Morning Brew"