Southwest Airlines shares slide after NTSB says one person died after flight suffered massive engine failure
- A Southwest Airlines flight suffered uncontained engine failure Tuesday.
- One passenger has died as a result.
- Shares of the airline fell to session lows on the news, and are now down 1.9%.
Shares of Southwest Airlines are sliding late Tuesday after the National Transporation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt announced at a press conference that one person died as a result of the uncontained engine failure on flight 1380 from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Love Field in Dallas.
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.
According to Philadelphia fire commissioner Adam Thiel, seven other passengers were treated for minor injuries.
Tuesday's sell-off has Southwest shares flirting with their lowest close since November. They would need to close below $53.50 in order to do so.
Southwest Airlines is down 16.7% this year.