A Southwest plane makes terrifying emergency after an engine fails mid-flight

Southwest

A Southwest Boeing 737. Not the one involved in the incident.

• A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 suffered an uncontained engine failure.
• A passenger on board the flight told local affiliate, NBC10, that the damage to fuselage caused a female passenger to be injured. 
• A ground stop was issued for Philadelphia International Airport following the incident. 

A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia after one of its engines suffered a major mid-flight failure.

The failure, which caused the front of the engine to disintegrate, sprayed shrapnel that penetrated the cabin of the Boeing 737-700, causing the jet to depressurize. 

Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was en route from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Love Field in Dallas, Texas when the incident occurred.

A ground stop was issued for Philadelphia International Airport following the incident. Southwest Airlines issued the following statement on its website:

We are aware that Southwest flight #1380 from New York La Guardia (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL) has diverted to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). We are in the process of transporting Customers and Crew into the terminal. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, has 143 Customers and five Crewmembers onboard. We are in the process of gathering more information. Safety is always our top priority at Southwest Airlines, and we are working diligently to support our Customers and Crews at this time.

Helicopter footage shows that the left engine of the aircraft was damaged, according to the Associated Press. The AP also reported that the tarmac was covered in foam from firefighters after landing. 

Some passengers on the flight shared details about the incident on social media. 

Passenger Kristopher Johnson said via Twitter that the crew did a great job of getting the aircraft down to the ground safely and posted an image of the missing engine. 

This story is developing.