Flight 1282 and our next steps with the Boeing MAX-9: t.co/LFxJvQYNcA pic.twitter.com/oemRokr1tz
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 6, 2024
BREAKING:
An Alaska Airlines plane has made an emergency landing in Portland after a part of the plan disintegrated mid-flight.
Phones and other items were sucked out through the hole, but fortunately no passengers were seated in the vicinity. t.co/he01H33pCw
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 6, 2024
Alaska Airlines grounds 737 Max 9 planes after window blows out mid-air
“A passenger plane lost a section of its fuselage in mid-air forcing it to make an emergency landing in the US state of Oregon.
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 turned back 35 minutes into its flight to California after an outer section, including a window, fell off on Friday.
There were 177 passengers and crew on board and it landed safely in Portland.
The airline said it would temporarily ground all 65 of its 737 Max 9 aircraft to conduct inspections.
Boeing said it was aware of the incident and was “working to gather more information”.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority told the BBC it was “monitoring the situation very closely”.
Evan Smith, one of the 171 passengers on board, said: “There was a really loud bang towards the left rear of the plane and a woosh noise – and all the air masks dropped.”