SEATTLE- An Alaska Airlines (AS) flight, AS1282, had to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (PDX) on Friday night after a significant portion of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 blew out mid-air, as reported by several passengers.
Dramatic photos shared by an anonymous passenger depict a considerable section of the airplane’s fuselage missing.
Alaska 737 MAX Window Blows Midair
At 7:26 p.m. (PST), Alaska Airlines posted on Twitter that they were “aware of an incident” on their flight AS1282 and mentioned they would provide more information as it becomes available. Alaska confirmed to KPTV via email that the flight had 174 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
The flight was en route from PDX to Ontario, California. It took off from Portland at 4:40 p.m. and safely landed back in Portland around 5:30 p.m.
A passenger interviewed by KPTV at the airport mentioned that a child had to be held in his seat by his mom, and individuals lost their phones, which were sucked out of the plane.
Another child, situated closest to the damaged section of the plane, lost his shirt due to the abrupt and forceful depressurization. However, apart from these incidents, everyone on board was reported to be okay, according to one passenger.
Several individuals on the flight, who preferred not to disclose their names, informed us that the airplane’s oxygen masks were deployed immediately after the depressurization, and numerous passengers used the masks while waiting for the plane to land at PDX.
Diego Murillo, a passenger, informed KPTV that Alaska Airlines rebooked them on an 11 p.m. flight from PDX.
However, the airline had not provided any details about the incident to him. Murillo mentioned that he and his family anticipated reaching their final destination around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Official Remarks
The airline responded to the incident on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote,
“AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available.”
It further wrote in a press release, “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 manage the situation safely.”
US Aerospace giant Boeing today issued the following statement after this shocking incident:
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation.”
This is the developing story; keep checking back for the latest updates.
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