Alaska Airlines temporarily grounds Boeing 737-9 fleet after emergency landing and cabin incident
Alaska Airlines has temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-9 aircraft after a terrifying incident on Flight 1282. The flight was headed from Portland to Ontario, California when it was forced to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport.
A passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, described the frightening moment when a panel and window of the fuselage blew out shortly after takeoff. “It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” Rinker said.
Fortunately, the plane landed safely and no serious injuries were reported. Video from a passenger on the flight posted to social media shows a section of the fuselage missing where a window would have been, with oxygen masks deployed throughout the airplane.
In response to the incident, Alaska Airlines has announced that its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft will undergo full maintenance and safety inspections over the next several days before being returned to service.
Alaska Airlines CEO, Ben Minicucci, expressed his sympathy for the passengers and crew, saying, “My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the incident, while Boeing has stated that it is aware of the incident and is working to gather additional information.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.