An Alaska Airlines plane makes an emergency landing in Portland after a window blew out after take-off

CNN
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Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max jets after one of its planes made an emergency landing in Oregon on Friday, an incident that a passenger said included a panel and window exploding during flight, officials said.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, flying from Portland to Ontario, California, returned safely to Portland International Airport around 5 p.m. PT after the crew “reported a pressure issue,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Kyle Rinker, a passenger on the plane, told CNN that a panel of the plane’s fuselage, including the panel window, exploded shortly after takeoff.

“It was really sudden. I had just reached altitude, the window/wall blew out and I didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” Rinker said.

The Port of Portland Fire Department said firefighters were called to evaluate minor injuries after the landing, and no serious injuries were reported.

A video posted by a passenger on social media shows a side section of the plane’s fuselage, where a window was missing, exposing passengers to outside air. The video, which appears to have been taken from several rows behind the crash, shows oxygen masks spread throughout the plane, and at least two people sitting near and directly behind the missing section.

Alaska Airlines said in a statement late Friday that it is working with Boeing to understand what happened on board Flight 1282.. The plane, a 737 MAX 9, received its airworthiness certificate on October 25, 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airline said that the company’s grounded fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft is expected to undergo full maintenance and safety checks over the next few days before being returned to service.

“My heart goes out to those on this flight, and I am very sorry for what they went through,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.

Although the airline acknowledged that an accident occurred on board Flight 1282 on Friday, it did not provide details about the nature of the incident. The airline said that the plane “landed safely at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and six crew members on board.”

According to FlightAware, the flight was in the air for approximately 20 minutes. The plane departed Portland International Airport at approximately 5:07 p.m. local time and landed at 5:27 p.m

Evan Smith, a passenger on the plane, told CNN affiliate KPTV that he was sitting at least six rows in front of the section where the accident occurred. “There was a very loud explosion at the back of the plane and all the masks fell off,” Smith said.

Emma Vu, another passenger, was asleep in her seat and woke up to the feeling of falling and seeing emergency masks falling off, she told CNN in a phone call on Friday. It appears that she woke up after the panel section exploded; It was not clear how close it was to the missing painting.

Fu said she texted her parents the emergency code word to inform them of the incident. “I’ve never had to use it before, but I knew this was that moment,” Fu said.

She said the people sitting on either side of her comforted her. “The flight attendant also came and told me it would be okay,” Fu said. “The fact that everyone was kind of freaked out and that she took that time to make me feel like I was the only passenger — honestly that was really cool.”

She said Fu was planning to take a different flight to her intended destination on Saturday morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the agencies said.

In a statement to CNN, Boeing said it is aware of an incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, and is working to gather additional information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Paradise Afshar and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.