Somewhat of a nit but..

[marked50]

I don't know if this is the place to post this, but there has been a lot of discussion (in the media) on the poor outcome of the woman who died from the Southwest Airlines incident of the engine failure, the window breach and her being sucked out of the window.

The news reporting talks on this event as something being exceptional but they never reference a similar occurrence in 1973. A DC-10 was traveling to San Fran and they had an engine failure that extracted a passenger over New Mexico. I remember it well as the plane safely landed at Albuquerque. The passenger was only found two years later.

Just to make sure that people know that this isn't the first time and to recognize 2 losses of life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Airlines_Flight_27

[manor321]

1. I'm a little confused

The deceased was possibly pulled toward the window but did not go through the window.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/investigators-in-fatal-southwest-flight-want-to-know-why-engine-fan-fractured/2018/04/18/e1d72ddc-430a-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2_story.html

[marked50]

8. She didn't go through the window but the person in 1973 did.

This post is only to describe that this is not a singular occurrence of a window breach and someone being pulled out of the window( or at least partially).

[No Vested Interest]

2. Does anyone here at DU know precisely what caused the woman's death? nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. I too am curious.

I think the mechanism for death is can be pretty quick during severe explosive decompression.

Not only do you have no ne air to breathe, what you had in your lungs gets sucked out. Unconsciousness can occur every quickly.

Also, severe damage to the lungs is a big danger.

Being in the plane is bad enough. But being right next to the breach has to be much worse.

[marked50]

7. I certainly can't say what the cause of death was

but I would imagine it was extreme trauma due to her upper torso and head being exposed to around 300 mph winds. I can only hope that she went into shock very suddenly and didn't suffer.

[milestogo]

12. Blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso.

The nurse who did CPR on her said something to the effect that she was slammed face down onto the wing of the plane.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/retired-nurse-save-woman-died-southwest-flight/story?id=54549800

[Glorfindel]

3. Two times in 45 years. Two times too many, of course

But I wonder how many automobile deaths there were during the same period.

[marked50]

10. No comparison in numbers of course, just expectations of safety I suppose....

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Dont forget the Aloha Airlines 737 that decided to be a convertible mid flight.

A female flight attendant was killed.

Also, that was also a female Captain. Iirc correction first officer was female

Edit to add:

[petronius]

11. Amazing that those seats stayed attached and the seatbelts held... (nt)

[marked50]

13. That was absolutely incredible that there was only that fatality with such a massive

failure at jet speeds.

[CentralMass]

14. I recall that incident. We had honeymooned in Hawaii just before that happened.

We flew on Aloha to go from Ohauo to the big island.

[irisblue]

6. 5 stops seems like a lot now a days. nt

[CentralMass]

9. There was that incident in 1964.