Southwest Flight 195 returns to NY airport due to engine problem

by Yuliya Talmazan | April 6, 2009 at 09:13 am

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Southwest Airlines Flight 195 heading to Florida had to return to its departure Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York due to engine problems a half-hour after departure at 9:50 am on Monday, April 6, landing safely with 127 (to 132 according to other reports) passengers on board. Just one engine is reported to have been operational. No injuries were reported. The cause of engine problems is unknown although reports of lightning causing engine problems have initially surfaced.

A Florida-bound Southwest Airlines jetliner has returned to New York's Long Island MacArthur Airport after experiencing engine trouble.

Flight 195 to Fort Myers, Fla., took off at 9:50 a.m. Monday with 127 passengers aboard.

Airline spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger (EYE'-kin-jer) says the Boeing 737 returned to the airport about a half-hour later after experiencing undisclosed engine trouble.

It landed safely at 10:24 a.m. There were no injuries.

The plane was being examined by airline mechanics. The passengers were expected to be placed on another jet.

A Southwest Airlines flight carrying at least 132 passengers and crew was forced to make an emergency return to Long Island-MacArthur Airport about a half-hour after takeoff Monday with just one of its two engines operating, an airline spokeswoman told Newsday.

Flight 195, which departed MacArthur at about 9:50 a.m. bound for Fort Myers, Fla., returned to the airport at 10:24 a.m. after "an issue with one of our engines," Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said Monday.

She said there were no injuries aboard the jet.

"Everyone's safe," she said.

The crew of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N786SW performing flight WN-195 from Islip,NY to Ft. Meyers,FL (USA) with 127 passengers and 5 crew, reported engine trouble forcing them to shut down the left hand engine and returned to Islip, where the airplane landed safely 34 minutes after takeoff.

A replacement aircraft is estimated to arrive in Ft. Meyers with a delay of 2 hours.

Initial reports of a lightning causing an engine on fire have been dismissed by both the airline and the FAA.