Kyle Ringer
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon after a window blew out after takeoff.
CNN
—
Alaska Airlines has temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max planes after they made an emergency landing in Oregon on Friday, officials said — causing a panel and window on the plane to explode, according to a passenger.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, en route from Portland to Ontario, Calif., returned safely to Portland International Airport around 5 p.m. “after reporting a crew pressurization issue.”
A panel of the fuselage covering the panel's window was exposed shortly after takeoff, passenger Kyle Ringer told CNN.
“It was really sudden. I got high and the window/wall just fell off and I didn't notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” said Ringer.
Firefighters were called to assess minor injuries after the landing, and no serious injuries were reported, the Portland Fire Department said.
of a traveller Video Posted on social media, it shows a side section of the plane where a window would have been, missing – exposing passengers to the outside air. Video taken from several rows after the incident showed oxygen masks being deployed throughout the plane and at least two people sitting near and just behind the missing section.
In a statement late Friday, Alaska Airlines said it was working with Boeing to understand what happened on Flight 1282.. The aircraft is a 737 MAX 9 that received its certificate of airworthiness on October 25, 2023. According to the FAA.
The airline said the airline's 65 grounded Boeing 737-9s will undergo full maintenance and safety inspections over the next few days before returning to service.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicusi said, “My heart goes out to the passengers on this flight – I'm very sorry for what you experienced.” said In a statement.
Although the airline acknowledged an incident on Friday's flight 1282, it did not elaborate on what the incident was. The plane landed safely at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and six crew members on board. said.
According to FlightAware, the plane flew in the air for about 20 minutes. The flight took off from Portland International Airport at 5:07 PM local time and landed at 5:27 PM.
Evan Smith, a passenger on the plane, told a CNN affiliate KPTV He was sitting at least six rows in front of the incident area. “There was a really loud bang and a bang toward the back of the plane and all the masks dropped,” Smith said.
Another passenger, Emma Wu, was asleep in her seat when she collapsed and awoke to find the emergency masks down, she told CNN in a phone call Friday. She apparently woke up after the panel part left; It's unclear how close she was to the missing group.
Wu said she sent her parents their code word for the emergency to let them know about the incident. “I've never had to use it before, but I knew this was the moment,” Wu said.
People sitting on either side of her consoled her. “The flight attendant came over and told me it was going to be okay,” Wu said. “Everyone was freaking out and the fact that she took that time made me feel like I was the only passenger – it was really nice to be honest.”
Vu plans to take another flight to his destination on Saturday morning, he said.
Both agencies said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
Boeing said in a statement to CNN that it is aware of an incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and is working to gather more information.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN's Paradise Afsher and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.
