[W]ASHINGTON — Lawmakers are asking for a review of the safety approval process of an airplane engine model after an explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight killed one woman.
One person died and seven others were injured when the explosion occurred mid-flight on a plane flying from New York to Dallas in April.
Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and fellow Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain a delay in reviewing the safety of the engines in a letter Thursday.
Safety concerns over the engines were raised two years ago when a Southwest plane experienced a malfunction. The incident forced the plane to make an emergency landing.
“We fear that the FAA moved too slowly to ensure CFM56-7B engines had the appropriate federal oversight while they were in use,” the senators wrote, referencing the type of engine on the Southwest plane.
The senators asked for an explanation of the two-year time delay for determining airworthiness of engines. They also asked for a list of groups that requested the FAA delay consideration of engine safety.
Jennifer Riordan, a Wells Fargo executive, died after the explosion shattered one of the plane’s windows.
Riordan grew up in Vermont, according to the Burlington Free Press. She graduated from Colchester High School in 1992 and attended Champlain College.
Riordan lived in New Mexico at the time of her death, though members of her family still live in Vermont.
