Southwest Airlines giving $5K to passengers of deadly flight

The Associated Press

7 years ago

The engine on a Southwest Airlines plane is inspected as it sits on the runway at the Philadelphia International Airport after it made an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. (Amanda Bourman via AP)

This April 17, 2018 photo provided by Marty Martinez shows the window that was shattered after a jet engine of a Southwest Airlines airplane blew out at altitude, resulting in the death of a woman who was nearly sucked from the window during the flight of the Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, shown after it made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. (Marty Martinez via AP)

National Transportation Safety Board investigators examine damage to the engine of the Southwest Airlines plane that made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. (NTSB via AP)

Family, friends and community leaders are mourning the death of Jennifer Riordan of Albuquerque, N.M., a bank executive on a Southwest Airlines jet that blew an engine as she was flying home from a business trip to New York. (Marla Brose/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

This April 17, 2018 photo provided by Marty Martinez shows the window that was shattered after a jet engine of a Southwest Airlines airplane blew out at altitude, resulting in the death of a woman who was nearly sucked from the window during the flight of the Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, after it made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. (Marty Martinez via AP)

PHILADELPHIA — Southwest is sending a letter of apology, a $5,000 check and a $1,000 travel voucher to passengers who were on a flight that made an emergency landing in Philadelphia following an engine explosion.

Chairman Gary Kelly says in the letter that the money is to help cover any “immediate financial needs.”

An engine on a Southwest jet exploded Tuesday, and debris hit the plane. Forty-three-year-old banking executive Jennifer Riordan of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was fatally injured when she was sucked partway out of the jet through a shattered window.

Passenger Marty Martinez of Dallas says he has no immediate plan to cash the check. He wants to talk to a lawyer. Eric Zilbert of Davis, California, says that after consulting with an attorney, he will cash his.

A public memorial service for Riordan is set for Sunday in Albuquerque.