A woman has died after shrapnel smashed through the window of a plane following an engine explosion at 30,000ft.
Seven other passengers were injured, forcing the Southwest Airlines plane, a Boeing 7373 bound from New York to Dallas, to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia.
According to reports, passengers heard a loud bang, with shrapnel from the engine smashing the window and into the side of the jet.
Amanda Bourman, one of the passengers on board, said: ‘I just remember holding my husband’s hand, and we just prayed and prayed and prayed.
‘And the thoughts that were going through my head of course were about my daughters, just wanting to see them again and give them a big hug so they wouldn’t grow up without parents.’
Further reports reveal passengers attempted to hold onto the injured woman as the air pressure dragged her towards the blown out window.
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt confirmed one person was killed. It was the first passenger fatality on a US airline since 2009, Sumwalt said.
An investigation is currently underway.
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