Much of a plane’s side wall exploded in midair shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (PDX) on Friday night after experiencing a depressurization incident, according to several passengers.
A passenger, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared dramatic photos with Fox News KPTV A window and part of a side wall are missing.
The National Transportation Safety Board said late Friday that it was investigating the emergency landing of Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 9 shortly after takeoff from Portland.
A large portion of a side wall of the plane, which was headed to Ontario, California, exploded in midair shortly after departure and it landed safely in Portland at 5:26 p.m. Pacific time with 174 passengers and six crew. according to Airline Data and Flightradar24.
At 7:26 pm (PST), Alaska Airlines posted on X: “We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”
Boeing said in a statement that it was investigating the emergency landing.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. “A Boeing technical team is ready to support the investigation.”
Diego Murillo, a passenger, reported that Alaska Airlines rebooked them on an 11 pm flight from PDX.
Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said: “Anytime a rapid decompression like this occurs, it’s a major safety event.
Diego Murillo, a passenger, reported that Alaska Airlines rebooked them on an 11 pm flight from PDX.
Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said: “Anytime a rapid decompression like this occurs, it is a significant safety event.”
The incident shows the importance of passengers keeping their seat belts fastened while seated on a plane, even if the seat belt light is off, Brickhouse said, noting that the oxygen mask system appeared to have worked correctly.
Data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggests that the new MAX 9 was delivered in late October to Alaska Airlines and certified in early November.
Boeing has previously urged airlines to inspect all 737 MAX planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.
The FAA is closely monitoring these inspections and may consider additional actions if additional hardware discoveries are found.
The 737 MAX was grounded for 20 months after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia. Boeing is awaiting certification for its smaller 737 MAX 7 and larger MAX 10.
