Florida-Bound Southwest Flight Diverted After Engine Problem
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
NEW ORLEANS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Southwest Airlines said a flight from New Orleans to Orlando, Florida, was diverted after a problem with an engine.
Spokesman Chris Mainz said the flight landed in Pensacola, Florida, around 9:40 a.m. Saturday.
Mainz said the flight captain made the decision to divert to Pensacola after a mechanical issue occurred with the number one engine.
Mainz said there were no injuries to the 99 passengers and five crew members. He said the plane is out of service and can't continue to Orlando and Southwest is trying to find other ways to get passengers there.
Southwest Airlines has notified the National Transportation Safety Board and Mainz said the airline will inspect the damage when authorized and work with the agency to determine the cause of the problem.
Pictures taken from the plane and posted online made it appear that part of the engine had blown apart, but Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said there was no explosion.
It's rare for Southwest or any other major airline to have such serious engine trouble, said Michael Boyd, president of airline consulting firm Boyd International.
"It's a one-off, almost unheard of," Boyd said Saturday. "Southwest has an outstanding safety record because it spends a lot of money on maintenance."
After making the emergency landing, the plane was taken of service. Southwest said it was trying to find alternative way to get the passengers aboard the flight to their destinations.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
