Mother-of-two dead after being 'sucked out of plane window' during US flight

A mother‑of‑two has been identified as the victim from a US jet engine blow‑out at over 9700 metres.

The AP reports that shrapnel from the engine on the Southwest Airlines airplane smashed a window, setting off a desperate scramble by passengers to save a woman from getting sucked out.

Seven other passengers were injured.

The dead woman has been named as Jennifer Riordan, a bank manager and mother‑of‑two from New Mexico.

Travellers said fellow passengers dragged the woman back in as the sudden decompression of the cabin pulled her part way through the opening.

The pilot of the Southwest Airlines plane, a twin‑engine Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, took it into a rapid descent and made an emergency landing in Philadelphia as passengers using oxygen masks that dropped from the ceiling said their prayers and braced for impact.

Source: AP/Stuff.co