Southwest Crew Lands Plane After Engine Explosion, Credits 'The Peace That God Has Given Us'
On April 17, Southwest Flight 1380 was 20 minutes airborne after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport when one of the engines of the plane exploded. The crew recalled how their faith helped them maintain a sense of peace throughout the heroic efforts they undertook to get the plane back on the ground.
When one of the engines of the Boeing 737 plane exploded, debris from the dead engine crashed into the body of the aircraft, damaging a cabin window and causing an instant drop in air pressure. One passenger, Jennifer Riordan, was partially ejected from the cabin. She later died of her injuries, as CBS News recalled the tragedy.
Faced with a casualty in an aircraft that was rapidly losing altitude, it took Captain Tammie Jo Shults and first officer Darren Ellisor, along with flight attendants Rachel Fernheimer, Seanique Mallory and Kathryn Sandoval, all their creativity and professional training to land the plane with just one engine.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Faith and some inspiration from the Bible certainly helped them fall back into a sense of calm in order to do everything right, as the crew shared with the hosts of "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday, May 23.
Just before the flight, the crew had a little extra time back in New York's LaGuardia airport to share some stories. Flight attendant Rachel Fernheimer has just gotten a new Bible, an edition that left room for notes on the side of the passages.
"She and Seanique and then Kathryn was talking about she was in a study of Psalms, which is where I'm doing a study in Psalms and Proverbs," Shults recalled their meeting before the flight.
"When you talk about things deeper than the weather, your family and faith, the things that matter to you, even if they're different, it tends to bring a bond," she noted, as quoted by Fox News.
During the incident, Shults had to rely on her military training, as well as some quick planning with Ellisor, to handle the unbalanced aircraft, while radioing for help as well as helping the flight attendants reassure everyone on board the flight.
It was a chaotic situation on the flight, as the crew scrambled to put on oxygen for themselves first and making communications among themselves a priority. Their newfound bond, strengthened by faith, helped them get into a steady state of mind to put everyone on the same page.
"Well, it was the peace that God had given us all. It's a peace that surpasses all understanding. Like Tammie Jo said, we came together beforehand and we all talked about God, and not knowing what was going to happen minutes later, God had already prepared us without us even knowing," Seanique Mallory shared about their experience.
