Southwest flight attendant injures back after hard landing, NTSB says
By Stella Chan and Chris Boyette, CNN
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant suffered a compression fracture in her back in July after the plane “landed with such force she thought the plane had crashed,” according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The attendant on Flight 2029 had secured the galley and cabin for landing at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, from Oakland, California, on July 1.
The attendant was in her jumpseat, belted and got into the brace position.
“According to the flight crew, they were flying a visual approach to runway 20R at SNA. They were aiming for the touchdown zone due to its short runway and trying to fly the aircraft onto the runway with minimal floating. However, it ended up being a firm landing,” the NTSB report said.
“She immediately felt pain in her back, neck and she could not move,” the NTSB said.
Paramedics transported her to a local hospital where she was diagnosed with a compression fracture to her T3 vertebra, according to the report.
“The Safety of Southwest’s Customer and Employees is always our top priority. We are concerned when any Employee is injured. We reported the matter to the NTSB in accordance with regulatory requirements and conducted an internal review of the event,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement to CNN.
No other injuries were reported and the Boeing 737-700 was not damaged, the NTSB report said. On the day of the landing, visibility was 10 miles, and wind speed was 9 knots (10.4 mph), according to the report.
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Top image: A Southwest jet comes in to land at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, in a September 2017 file photo. (Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register/Getty Images)
