Related Articles Letter: Metal fatigue may have been part of Southwest Flight 1380’s engine failure

Pilot Tammie Jo Shults is being heralded as a hero for keeping a cool head during the mid-air drama They’re talking about Tammie Jo Shults, the steel-nerved pilot who saved the day. They’re talking about Andrew Needum and real estate agent Tim McGinty and retired nurse Peggy Phillips who all tried to save the life of a fellow passenger who was dying right before their eyes.

Southwest flight 1380 has become an immediate American legend. On YouTube chatrooms and Facebook pages, the cool-headed Shults who safely landed the hobbled Boeing 737 is being compared to Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a fellow hero in the annals of modern-day aviation.

This story is tailor-made for social media. Fueled by passengers’ first-hand accounts and videos from inside the damaged jet and aeronautics experts spitballing probable causes of the mishap, the online commentary in the aftermath of this week’s deadly accident has made for some compelling reading.

People are in awe of the heroism displayed on board 1380. They are horrified and saddened by the death of Jennifer Riordan, the passenger sucked half-way out a window obliterated by shrapnel from a blown-out engine. And they are flabbergasted at how many of the passengers seemed to have no idea how to properly don an oxygen mask.

Let’s start with a fascinating tutorial on the incident by Petter Hörnfeldt, a European pilot trainer based in Girona, Spain, who used his Mentour Pilot YouTube channel this week to unpack the incident. Until the NTSB investigators wrap up their incident report, Hörnfeldt’s presentation will serve as the next-best-thing to an official explanation of what happened.

“In case of cabin depressurization, please place the oxygen mask over your mouth AND NOSE…” that’s my takeaway from the passenger videos,” writes Phil Rabe on YouTube. “Great teamwork, and leadership! I mistakenly thought this was practiced at least annually, thanks for making clear that this was TWO emergencies. I was too blase over the job done by the Captain and her crewmates.”

“Michael” writes that “having spent twenty-five years in the airline industry we routinely trained for the unexpected. However, no matter how much you train it’s next to impossible to prepare for every unimaginable scenario such as this one. Clearly the crew made the correct split second decisions with the most favorable outcome. ”

“Preliminary findings of the NTSB show that the no.13 fan blade of engine no.1 was missing,” says William Reid. “It appears to have broken away at the hub. There is evidence of metal fatigue in the area where the blade broke. Also, a part of the no.1 engine cowling was reported to have been found at Burnville, PA.”

Down on the ground in Pennsylvania, the local ABC news station reported that pieces of the blown engine turned up in Berks County. “It all started when folks in this rural area reported seeing large metal fragments scattered on a farm in Penn Township,” said their report. “People who live nearby say they were stunned when they learned that those were fragments from the Southwest plane.

“”I have always been concerned about stuff happening with aircrafts flying so close to where we live – we live in a flight zone – but now I know there is a need to be concerned,” said Alicia Miller of Bernville, Pa.

“Nova Man” wishes that “seat belts were required at all times. A buckled seat belt may have saved a life instead of losing 1 passenger. Passengers who unbuckle can injure others when they go flying around the cabin during turbulence or other emergencies.”

Praise, of course, was effusive and widespread for Shults.

Tammie Jo Shults, pictured left, was the pilot of Southwest Flight 1380 when an engine failed mid-air. She is being hailed as a hero for safely landing the plane. Shults previously was a Navy fighter pilot who was one of the first women to fly F-18s: https://t.co/Dz6qCMtZZ8 pic.twitter.com/TxwyspJq5J — Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) April 17, 2018

And the Twittersphere couldn’t get enough samples of that mesmerizing conversation between 1380’s cockpit crew and various traffic controllers 30,000 feet below them.