Southwest Airlines sends apology letters and $5,000 checks to their passengers

P H I L A D E L P H I A-

Southwest Airlines has sent

passengers of Flight 1380

a letter of apology that

includes a check for $5,000

"to cover any of your immediate

financial needs" after

the plane suffered an engine

failure and had to make

an emergency landing in

Philadelphia.

The letter also says the

passengers would separately

receive a $1,000 flight voucher.

There were 144 passengers

and five crew members

on Flight 1380 when its left

engine was ripped apart in

mid-air Tuesday morning,

forcing the plane to make

an emergency landing at

Philadelphia International

Airport. One passenger,

Jennifer Riordan, a 43-yearold

bank executive and

mother of two, died of injuries

she suffered when she

was partially blown out a

window that shattered when

the engine failed.

Such payments are not

unusual in such situations,

said Mary Schiavo, a transportation

lawyer and CNN

analyst.

"It gets money in the hands

of people that need it for

counseling or something,"

Schiavo said.

While the National

Transportation Safety Board

investigates the catastrophic

engine failure, the airline's

"primary focus and commitment

is to assist you in every

way possible," said the letter,

signed by Southwest president

Gary C. Kelly.

"We value you as our

Customer and hope you will

allow us another opportunity

to restore your confidence

in Southwest as the

airline you can count on for

your travel needs. In this

spirit, we are sending you

a check in the amount of

$5,000 to cover any of your

immediate financial needs.

As a tangible gesture of our

heartfelt sincerity, we are

also sending you a $1,000

travel voucher (in a separate

e-mail), which can be used

for future travel."

The letter opened and

closed with the company

offering its "sincere" and

"heartfelt" apologies.

Investigators say a broken

rotor blade set off the engine

failure. They are trying to

determine why the blade,

which showed signs of metal

fatigue, broke off.

While Southwest is offering

its apologies, passengers

are hailing the plane's pilot,

Tammie Jo Shults, as a hero.

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