Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Portland after section of plane blew out mid-air
Alaska Airlines said it is temporarily grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft in order to complete 'full maintenance and safety inspections'
An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Friday at Portland International Airport after a large section of the plane blew out in mid-air.
The airline said in a statement that flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an "incident" shortly after departure. The aircraft, which was carrying 171 guests and six crew members, landed safely back at Portland International Airport.
"The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority, so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation," the statement read.
The flight departed Portland at 4:40 p.m. local time and was back on the ground at around 5:30 p.m., according to KPTV.
An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Friday at Portland International Airport after a large section of the plane blew out in mid-air. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
One passenger told the outlet that people's phones were sucked out of the plane and that a child close to the damaged part of the plane lost his shirt from the violent and sudden depressurization.
The pilot radioed to the air traffic controller immediately after the incident declaring that the flight had depressurized, CBS News reported.
Social media video appeared to show that one of the passenger window panels had been blown out. No passengers were sitting next to that window.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-MAX 9, was delivered to the airline in October.
The plane was about six minutes into its flight and about 16,000 feet in the air when it began its descent, according to FlightAware.
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The flight departed Portland at 4:40 p.m. local time and was back on the ground at around 5:30 p.m. (David Middlecamp/San Luis Obsipo Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Both Alaska Airlines and the National Transportation Safety Board announced an investigation into the incident.
"At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day," Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement. "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. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days."
Minicucci said he is "personally committed" to doing everything possible to conduct the review in a timely and transparent way. He also explained that the airline is working with Boeing and regulators to determine what happened in this incident and that the airline will fully support the NTSB's investigation.
"My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced," Minicucci said. "I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead."
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The Port of Portland said the fire department responded to the incident after the plane landed and passengers were treated for minor injuries. One person was transported from the scene for further medical treatment but no serious injuries were reported, according to KPTV.
Several passengers told the outlet that the plane's oxygen masks deployed immediately after the depressurization and that multiple people used the masks as they waited for the plane to land in Portland.