An Alaskan Airlines flight suffered dangerous depressurization mid-flight as one of its windows and part of its fuselage blew out.
Following this incident on flight 1282, which was heading from Portland to California, the airline temporarily grounded its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 MAX planes to complete safety and maintenance checks, as they announced on X.
Shortly after the mishap, photos of the large chunk of fuselage missing from the back left side of the plane began circulating on social media. One video posted on TikTok shows passengers wearing oxygen masks as the plane descended, with the gaping hole in the aircraft being visible in the back.
@strawberr.vy Girls’ trip turned into emergency landing trip… #alaska #alaskaair
One anonymous passenger told KPTV that a child had to be held down in his seat by his mother who was sitting beside him. This same child, who was allegedly sitting closest to the missing part of the plane, reportedly lost his shirt due to the sudden depressurization. Thankfully, there was no one sitting at the seat where the blowout occurred.
“Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” the airline said in a statement made to Business Insider. “The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 174 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available.”
As recorded by the public flight records, the Boeing 737-9 MAX took off from Portland International Airport at around 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and landed just 30 minutes later, reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet before having to descend.
This Boeing 737-9 MAX is a variant of the Boeing 737 MAX series, which were involved in two previous crashes that killed hundreds of passengers. After the second crash, which happened on Ethiopian Airlines, the plane was grounded internationally.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) both announced that they would be further investigating the incident.
