Husband of Southwest accident victim speaks out

Husband of Southwest accident victim speaks out

It’s the news nobody wants to hear let alone deliver to their children.

Last week, following a devastating phone call from the hospital, Michael Riordan was forced to sit his children down and tell them that their mother would not be coming home.

See also: Heroic passengers tried to save woman during Southwest tragedy

A week after the tragic Southwest Airlines accident that saw Jennifer Riordan partially sucked out the window of a plane, leaving her with fatal injuries, her husband has spoken out about her death.

Riordan said he was initially in disbelief about his wife’s passing.

Speaking to ABC News, the father of two described the moment he heard his wife had been 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?'” he 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.”

After hearing his wife was injured, Riordan quickly searched through online news sources and found out about the crash.

See also: The pilot who landed a plane on one engine 

“I saw one passenger 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 love on her.'”

It was then that he received the call from the doctor informing him his wife didn’t make it.

“I immediately thought of the kids and how do you tell your kids their mom was gone,” he told ABC News.

He drove to the children’s school and brought them into a chapel to explain what had happened.

“I just held their little hands and took a knee and said, ‘Mommy’s not going to come home guys.'”

Riordan said he hadn’t found peace about the situation until her funeral on Sunday.

He told ABC News he had been avoiding news reports about the incident, choosing instead to focus on his children.

Southwest has expressed their condolences to the family, saying that although they are grateful nobody else was seriously injured, Jennifer Riordan’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,” Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines CEO said during a press conference according to News.com. 

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