Plane victim's husband speaks for first time since tragedy
A week ago, Michael Riordan’s life changed forever as he was delivered the heartbreaking news that his wife and the mother of his two children, Jennifer, had died after being partially sucked out the window of a Southwest Airlines plane.
Now, Michael has spoken to the ABC in his home state of New Mexico about losing his wife that he had met 29 years ago at the shops.
Michael revealed that he initially didn’t believe that his wife could be that injured.
“The chaplain at the hospital called and said, ‘We need to speak with Mike Riordan who is married to Jennifer. Are you married to Jennifer Riordan?’” Michael said.
“I said, ‘Yes, but she wasn’t going through Philadelphia. She was planning on going to Chicago so I don’t think you —’ just absolute denial. I’m still in denial.
“He said, ‘I need to have a doctor talk to you’.”
After speaking to the chaplain at the Philadelphia hospital, Michael immediately went online and researched the engine explosion.
“I saw one passenger was brought to the hospital, like, ‘OK, but the whole plane didn’t crash,’” he said.
“I was like, ‘She can’t be injured that bad she’s just in a hospital, but I can get out there and I can hold her hand and tell her I love her, it just can’t be that bad.’”
Two minutes after reading the article, Michael received another call from the hospital.
“We’re sorry, we tried everything we could but she didn’t make it,” a doctor told him.
Michael then had to face the impossible task of breaking the news to his two young children.
“I immediately thought of the kids and how do you tell your kids their mum was gone,” he said.
Jennifer had planned to meet up with her family at her son’s baseball game after she flew in from New York. Michael instead took their kids to a chapel and broke the tragic news to them.
“I just held their little hands and took a knee and said, ‘Mummy’s not going to come home guys,’” he said.
Michael explained that he is staying away from reports about what the airline should do and is instead focusing on his two young children.
Immediately after the incident, Southwest Airlines chief executive officer Gary Jelly said Jennifer’s death was a “tragic loss”.
“This is a sad day, and our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased customer,” he said.
Jennifer was partially dragged out of a window on the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 after shrapnel from an exploded engine smashed the glass.
Jennifer was wearing her seatbelt when the incident occurred.
Firefighter Andrew Needum and ranch hand Tim McGinty helped pull her back inside the plane.
Retired nurse Peggy Phillips was one of the passengers who gave Jennifer CPR.
“The window had broken and the suction, the negative pressure, had pulled her outside the plane partially,” Peggy said.
“These two wonderful men ... and a passenger managed to get her back inside the plane and we lay her down and we started CPR.”