- The Washington Times - Saturday, August 27, 2016

A Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando made an emergency landing Saturday morning in Pensacola after a mid-air malfunction sidelined the plane’s primary engine.

Federal investigators are now trying to determine the cause of what a Southwest spokesperson described as an “mechanical issue with the number one engine.”

“It was just a big explosion. There was some smoke and then nothing,” a passenger from Oklahoma City who asked not to be identified told KOCO 5. “I saw parts flapping in the wind because it was right outside my window.”

Oxygen masks were made available to passengers as the airline rapidly descended, the woman said.

“I held my kids, and one was freaking out, crying. And so, we’re trying to hold his hand and singing and praying a lot,” she added.

Eventually the plane stabilized, the woman said, and one of it pilots emerged from the cockpit to tell passengers that one of the engines was lost.

“(The crew) stayed professional. They were amazing,” she said. “I mean, we couldn’t have had a better crew, and it was thanks to that pilot that we’re all alive.”

Southwest Airlines said in a statement that its taken the aircraft out of service as it determines what went wrong Saturday morning on Flight #3472. None of the flight’s 99 passengers or five crew members were reported injured, Southwest said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has begun investigating the incident and was inspecting passengers’ luggage, the woman said. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it will be conducting an investigation as well.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

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