Federal safety inspectors claim that a Southwest Airlines flight attendant sustained a compression fracture to an upper back vertebra after a harsh landing in California last month.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the landing’s impact was so severe that the flight attendant first believed the aircraft had crashed.
She was rushed to a hospital where the fracture was discovered after she complained of discomfort in her neck and back and was unable to move.
The results of the safety board’s examination into the hard landing were not disclosed.
None of the other 141 passengers on the aircraft, according to the NTSB, were hurt during the incident at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California.
On the rather short runway, the pilots claimed to be aiming for the typical landing zone.
However, the NTSB said in its final report, which was released on Friday, “it ended up being a solid landing.”
Southwest, which has its headquarters in Dallas, said in a statement on Monday that it had “submitted the problem to the NTSB in compliance with regulatory procedures and performed an internal examination of the situation.”
When questioned about the outcome of the internal inquiry and if the jet was checked for signs of damage that may occur after a hard landing, a spokesperson for the airline refused to offer any more information.
According to monitoring agencies, the aircraft has been flying many times every day.
The 55-year-old captain and 49-year-old co-pilot of the 18-year-old Boeing 737-700 were informed of the flight attendant’s injuries shortly after the aircraft taxed off the runway.
The flight attendant was sitting in a jump seat at the rear of the aircraft.
The NTSB, which did not visit the crash scene, has not released any of the investigation’s records to the public.
The aircraft only had a 5,700-foot runway to land on. In contrast, the adjacent Los Angeles International Airport has runways that are from 8,900 to over 13,000 feet long.