SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- John Kukuruda was jolted awake when the roof ripped open. Gerald Combs saw the hole after putting the oxygen mask on his 6-year-old daughter.
As Southwest Airlines grounded a portion of its jet fleet Saturday, passengers recalled the tumult and fear on Sacramento-bound Flight 812 after the plane's aluminum skin tore open.
"You could see into the sky," said Combs, 43, of Woodland.
Southwest canceled 300 flights nationwide and parked 79 of its Boeing 737-300 jetliners after the stricken plane made an emergency landing Friday afternoon in Yuma, Ariz., following its takeoff from Phoenix. The canceled flights represented 8 percent to 10 percent of Southwest's network.
With the aircraft out of commission for several days, Southwest spokeswoman Linda Rutherford said more cancellations are certain. Those Saturday included 10 at Sacramento International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board described the incident as an "in-flight fuselage rupture" and dispatched investigators to Yuma.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/03/3524053/southwest-passengers-tell-of-terror.html#ixzz1IU8EDCLp
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