FlyerTalk member pond fisher and his wife were passengers aboard a Boeing 737-300 airplane which operated as Southwest Airlines flight 362 from Philadelphia to Nashville yesterday morning, Tuesday, October 10, 2017 when a loud explosion suddenly occurred outside of the cabin.
FlyerTalk Member: “There Was Fire Shooting Down the Fuselage of the Plane”
Upon looking out the window, “there was fire shooting down the fuselage of the plane”, pond fisher recalled. “Blue / Orange color… Stopped flight attendant and she ran to rear of plane and must have called the pilot. During this time the flame turned to orange sparks. Flight attendant returns and asks if the flame is gone.. Answer is YES! All cabin lights come on and the pilot talks on the intercom that we have lost an engine but the plane for now is flying fine 100 miles to touchdown in Nashville.”
For the next 45 minutes, pond fisher and his wife “had many thoughts and prayers going through our heads over the next 45 minutes” — but they were calmed by a retired Air Force pilot who was seated in the aisle seat; and “he explained to us the different scenarios of what was going on. He even told us when the plane lands the tail would fish tail back and forth and it did…”
All of the passengers applauded when the aircraft landed safely after what were considered “scary moments”; and the airplane had to be replaced for passengers who were flying on to San Antonio after the conclusion of the flight.
Summary
The incident was confirmed by several sources — including this article written by Simon Hradecky for The Aviation Herald — and according to FlightAware, the airplane arrived at Gate C22 at Nashville International Airport after the flight concluded seven minutes early at 6:53 in the morning Central Daylight Time.
Thankfully, pond fisher, his wife, members of the flight crew, and all of the other passengers were safe.
Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
