Crew Made Emergency Landing At Pensacola, FL

A Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando, FL made an emergency landing at Pensacola International Airport Saturday after the airplane suffered an uncontained failure of its left engine.

Multiple media sources indicated that that, according to FlightAware, the plane departed Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans Saturday morning at 0910 CDT. It landed at Pensacola at 0942.

Passenger Tami Richards told television station KOCO in Oklahoma City that there "was just a big explosion. There was some smoke and then nothing." She said she saw parts "flapping in the wind" right outside her window.

The pilots kept their cool and landed the plane safely at Pensacola. None of the 99 passengers or five crew members on board were injured.

"A great job today by our professional @SouthwestAir pilots. The best safety device is always a well-trained pilot," SWAPA said in a posting on Twitter.

All 99 passengers were rebooked on other flights, the airline said, adding that they have contacted the FAA, NTSB, and engine manufacturer GE.

(Image from SWAPA Twitter feed)

FMI: www.southwest.com