Story highlights The plane lands in Pensacola after the left engine failed

A passenger says the crew did an amazing job

(CNN) A Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando was forced to make an emergency landing when one of the engines failed, the airline said.

A woman who was on the plane with her husband and three children told CNN affiliate KOCO that the engine was right outside her window.

"It was just a big explosion. There was some smoke and then nothing," she told the Oklahoma City station . "I saw parts flapping in the wind."

The plane started shaking and breathing masks were deployed as the airliner descended.

There was damage to the left side of the plane just above the wing.

Some people started screaming and crying, the woman said.

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