A phenomenological study has been conducted on jet flames near blowout for the purpose of determining the blowout mechanism. The authors show the successful blowout correlation of Broadwell et al. [Twentieth Symposium (International) on Combustion, 1984, p. 303] can be derived from the assumptions of Vanquickenborne and van Tigglen [Combust. Flame 10:59 (1966)], namely, that blowout is a competition between the local premixed turbulent flame speed and the local flow velocity. The authors argue that the role of coherent, large-scale, rotational structures found in jet turbulence is to enhance the turbulent flame speed near blowout. Experiments were conducted which show that nearly the entire cross-section of the jet is combusting in a premixed flame near blowout. This is distinct from a lifted flame that combusts only near the outer edge of the jet. The length and time scales used in the derivation of the blowout mechanism are compared with those observed in the experiments and found to be consistent with the data.