Jennifer Riordan has been named as the woman killed after a Southwest Airlines jet blew an engine at about 30,000 feet.
Riordan was struck by shrapnel that smashed through a window by the exploded engine that also damaged the fuselage Tuesday. Seven others were injured in the incident, authorities said.
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Riordan’s former employer, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, released a statement upon the news of her death.
“Jennifer was an amazing community leader, team member, wife and mother. Her passion for our community, our students and our future was unwavering. We are committed to carrying on her work to ensure quality education and career opportunities to New Mexico’s youth. Our thoughts and prayers remain with her family during this difficult time. She will be forever missed by her Lobo family,” it said in part. source
Riordan was a vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo bank. She was the wife of Michael Riordan, who served until recently as the chief operating officer for the city of Albuquerque.
The aircraft, a twin-engine Boeing 737 bound from New York to Dallas with 149 people aboard, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia just before noon as passengers breathing through oxygen masks that dropped from the ceiling said their prayers and braced for impact.
John Goglia, a former NTSB member, said investigators will take the Southwest engine apart to understand what happened and will look at maintenance records for the engine.