Los Angeles Times
PORTLAND, Oregon, USA — An Alaska Airlines plane lost a window and part of its fuselage shortly after taking off more than 4 kilometers (3 miles) over Oregon, creating a huge hole that sucked out a child's clothing and forced the pilots to make an emergency landing as its 174 passengers and six crew members donned oxygen masks.
No one was seriously injured when the depressurized plane safely returned to Portland International Airport Friday night about 20 minutes after takeoff, but the airline grounded its 65 Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft until they are inspected. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Saturday that it will also open an investigation into the incident.
Passenger Evan Smith said a child and his mother were sitting in the row where the window exploded and the child's shirt was sucked out and flown out of the plane.
“We heard a loud noise in the left rear. A whistling sound, and all the oxygen masks deployed instantly and everyone put them on,” Smith told KATU TV.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said the inspection of the company's 737-9 fleet could take several days. These aircraft represent about one-fifth of the airline's 314 planes. It was unclear Saturday what the impact would be on the airline's flight schedule.
“We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what happened tonight, and we will share updated information as it becomes available,” Minicucci said. “My heart goes out to everyone on this flight; I am so sorry for what they went through.”.
The Port of Portland, which operates the airport, told KPTV that the Fire Department treated minor injuries at the scene. One person was transported for further treatment but was not seriously injured.
Flight 1282 had taken off from Portland on Friday at 5:07 p.m. for a two-hour flight to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, the plane lost a window and part of its fuselage while at an altitude of 6,000 feet (4.8 kilometers). One of the pilots declared an emergency and requested permission to descend to 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), the altitude where the air has enough oxygen for safe breathing.
“We need to get back to Portland,” the pilot told controllers in a calm tone of voice that she maintained throughout the emergency landing.
Videos posted online by passengers showed a hole where a window used to be and passengers wearing oxygen masks. They applauded when the plane landed safely about 13 minutes after the window blew out. Firefighters boarded the aircraft, asking passengers to remain in their seats while they attended to those who had been injured.
The aircraft in question rolled off the assembly line and received its certification just two months ago, according to online records from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The plane had completed 145 flights since entering commercial service on November 11, according to FlightRadar24, another flight tracking service. The Portland flight was the third of the day.
The Max is the newest version of Boeing's revered 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle airliner often used for domestic flights in the United States. The aircraft entered service in May 2017.
Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people and leading to a nearly two-year worldwide grounding of all Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft. The planes returned to service only after Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.
Last year, the FAA asked pilots to limit the use of an anti-icing system on the Max in dry conditions for fear that the inlets around the engines could overheat and detach, possibly hitting the aircraft.
Deliveries of the Max have occasionally been halted to correct manufacturing defects. In December, the company asked airlines to inspect the aircraft for a possible loose screw in the rudder control system.
Cover photo: Alaska Airlines planes sit parked at dawn on March 1, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press )
