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.