2024-01-06 15:34:24
PORTLAND, OR — An Alaska Airlines flight bound for southern California was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland on Friday following a piece of the plane’s wall appeared to detach mid-flight, according to officials and multiple reports.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which was headed from Portland to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County returned safely to Portland International Airport around 5 p.m. PT following “the crew reported a pressurization issue,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Kyle Rinker, a passenger on the plane, told CNN a fuselage panel detached from the plane shortly following takeoff.
“It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” Rinker told CNN.
A video taken by a passenger also shows the missing panel and at least two people sitting near and just behind the missing section.
No injuries were reported, according to NBC News.
In a statement provided to outlets, Alaska Airlines said it was working with Boeing to find out what happened on the 737 Max 9 aircraft.
“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,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement provided to NBC News.
On Saturday, the FAA temporarily grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 for immediate inspection before they might return to flight, the agency said in a statement. According to the FAA, the grounding affects approximately 171 airplanes, and inspections were expected to take around 4 to 8 hours per aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, the FAA said.
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