Several government agencies are investigating a terrifying incident in which a section of an Alaska Airlines plane blew out midflight, sending passengers into a panic and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing Friday in Portland, Oregon.
No injuries were reported on the flight, which had been bound for Ontario, California. After the safe landing at Portland International Airport, passengers recounted the ordeal to news outlets, describing how a panel suddenly split from the side of the plane about 20 minutes after takeoff.
The rapid loss of cabin pressure caused a child’s clothes to be pulled off, The Associated Press reported.
The rapid loss of cabin pressure caused a child’s clothes to be pulled off, The Associated Press reported.
“Everything was going fine until we just heard like a loud bang, or like a boom,” a passenger who gave her name only as Elizabeth told KGW, an NBC affiliate in Portland. “And I look up and the air masks are like out, popped down, and I look to my left and there’s just this huge gaping hole.”
A TikTok video, which has been verified by NBC News, shows the hole, as well as passengers using oxygen masks.
On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered some Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to be grounded temporarily.
Alaska Airlines said Saturday that inspections on its 65 such planes were underway and that 18 of them had been cleared to return to service. United Airlines, which operates the largest fleet of 737 Max 9 planes in the U.S., has grounded its 79 jets as well.
The Alaska Airlines plane that blew out was new, having just received certification in November.
The Alaska Airlines plane that blew out was new, having just received certification in November. The aircraft had been on 144 flights before the incident, including two others earlier Friday, according to Flight Radar 24, a flight tracking website.
Jets from Boeing’s 737 Max line have been involved in fatal crashes in the past. Boeing also has had problems with the Max anti-icing system, and last month the company asked the FAA for an exemption from federal safety standards for the system.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating Friday’s incident.