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New London, Wisconsin | I agree with your assessment of the compressor blades, and the logic of safe position from them. She was however seated above the wing and well behind the engine. I listened to the clips from ATC and the crew did an exemplary job. So did some passengers seated near her helping to get her back in. Chance of survival at 32,000 feet and 520 miles per hour with your head out the window are low to say the least. She would have been unconscious nearly instantly. Hearts go out to her family.
The irony is that her body partially plugging the hole may well have limited the speed of decompression helping others to fair much better than they might have. With her window suddenly out and decompression next to her, there would have been terrible risk to her life. No word about her seat belt use.
Pilot protocol in a case like this is get the jet down to breathable air right now. That means pull the throttles back and point it down like a lawn dart. This us usually down by banking left at an extreme angle while letting the nose drop then leveling the wings. Airspeed is monitored and angle of decent controlled to stay at maximum decent speed without exceeding the safe design speed. It is an eye watering angle and would lead passengers to believe their ticket to heaven has been punched. They went down 21,000 feet in under 5 minutes which is 4200 + feet per minute downward.
I have done a few emergency decents in my plane for training purposes. It's an exhilarating ride when it's not a real emergency.
Southwest has an enviable safety record and I would fly with them as my first choice.
Jim | |
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Southwest plane
