An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Friday night after experiencing what federal authorities described as an airborne “pressurization issue” that passengers said caused a chunk to explode. of the fuselage.
The airline said Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had made a safe emergency landing with 171 passengers and six crew members after returning to Portland airport shortly after takeoff for Ontario, California. The crew reported a “pressurization issue” before landing, the Federal Aviation Administration said. he said in a separate statement.
One passenger, Vi Nguyen of Portland, said she had been asleep and woke up to a loud sound during the flight. She then saw a large hole in the side of the plane.
“I open my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me,” said Nguyen, 22. “And I look to the left and the wall on the side of the plane is gone.”
“The first thing I thought was: ‘I’m going to die.’”
The plane was a Boeing 737-9 Max, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. The airline, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said they were investigating what happened.
Ms. Nguyen, who was traveling with her friends, said that after landing they had been told they could board another flight to Ontario that same night.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off for Ontario International Airport at 5:07 p.m., according to FlightAware and was diverted back to Portland six minutes later.
The plane reached a maximum altitude of about 16,000 feet, when its speed was recorded at more than 440 miles per hour, and landed in Portland at 5:27 p.m., FlightAware data showed.
Mark Walker contributed with reports.
This is a developing story.
