Chaos erupted on an Alaska Airlines plane when a massive piece of the aircraft blew off mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole that sucked out passengers’ belongings and forced an emergency landing.
The Friday flight departed from Portland, Oregon, at 4:52 p.m., headed for Ontario, California. However, it had to head back to Portland International Airport only 35 minutes after takeoff when the flight turned into a nightmare, according to data from Flight Aware.
Alaska Airlines said in a statement posted to X that the flight, which had 171 passengers and six crew members aboard, “experienced an incident,” without expounding.
AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available.
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 6, 2024
However, terrifying videos taken by guests on board the plane quickly made their rounds on social media, showing the danger of the situation.
@strawberr.vy Girls’ trip turned into emergency landing trip… #alaska #alaskaair
Fortunately, the seats closest to the hole were empty, and no one was seriously injured.
Passengers described the terrifying incident, detailing to KPTV how people’s cell phones and belongings were sucked out of the aircraft.
One guest told the outlet that a mother had to hold her child in his seat.
That child, who was seated closest to the damaged portion of the plane, also lost his shirt, and his skin appeared reddened from the wind.
Oxygen masks were deployed immediately after the piece blew off, and passengers used them as the plane descended back in Portland.
Audio recordings of the pilot captured the moments after the emergency occurred at around 16,000 feet.
I found the @liveatc recording of #ASA1282 declaring an emergency with Seattle Center around 5:12pm PT. Aircraft would have been ~12,000 ft and climbing. “Uhhhh we’d like to get down.” pic.twitter.com/P8xxJ5nsbj
— Brian McGuigan (@bricaul) January 6, 2024
“Portland approach, Alaska 1282 emergency! Aircraft is now leveling 12,000 in a left turn heading three four zero,” the Alaska Airlines pilot said.
“We are emergency, we are depressurized, we do need to return back to, we have 177 passengers. Fuel is eighteen eight.”
First responders arrived at the tarmac when the plane touched back down and treated minor injuries. One individual was taken for further medical evaluations, the Port of Portland told KPTV.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 was practically brand-new, having just been built and approved to fly in late October, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registry.
In response to the incident, Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded all its Boeing 737-9 planes late Friday.
“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a press release. “Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections.”
“We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight and will share updates as more information is available.”
Boeing, Alaska Airlines, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have all launched investigations, according to the Daily Mail.
“My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants,” Minicucci added in his statement.
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