Trump will meet with the heroic crew that landed the fatal Southwest flight after the plane suffered an explosive engine failure
- President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with the pilots and crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380.
- The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday at the White House.
- The Southwest crew has been praised for their professionalism and resourcefulness.
- Flight 1380 was forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia earlier this month after suffering a catastrophic engine failure and cabin depressurization.
President Donald Trump is set to meet with the pilots and flight attendants of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 on Tuesday. The meeting is expected to take place at the White House.
"We can confirm that The White House extended an invitation to honor the Crew of Flight 1380 with the meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 1," a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman told Business Insider in an email. "The entire five-person Crew will be in attendance."
No further details regarding the meeting are available at this time.
The crew of Flight 1380 have been praised for their professionalism and resourcefulness in the face of a critical emergency earlier this month. Some have called the flight's captain, Tammie Jo Shults, a national hero.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, April 17, after suffering a catastrophic engine failure and cabin depressurization.
One passenger, Jennifer Riordan, died as a result of the incident. Her death was the first in an accident aboard a US commercial airliner since 2009.
Southwest Airlines and others using the CFM56-7B engine are putting their fleets through ultrasonic testing to make sure such a failure does not happen again.
Past presidents have also met with the crews involved in major aviation incidents.
In 2009, then-President-elect Barack Obama invited the crew of US Airways 1549 to attend his inauguration. According to the flight's captain, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Obama met with and congratulated the crew at a post-inaugural ball. Flight 1549, also known as "Miracle on the Hudson," saw Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles land a stricken Airbus A320 in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew made it to safety.