in the United States, an airliner loses part of its fuselage in mid-flight

2024-01-06 13:53:00

By Le Figaro

Published yesterday at 06:09, Updated yesterday at 12:53

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The almost new Alaska Airlines Boeing was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland. Miraculously, no passengers were injured. The company announced that it was “temporarily” grounding the 65 aircraft in its Boeing 737-9 fleet.

An Alaska Airlines plane bound for Ontario, California, was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport Friday evening, January 5, after a section of its fuselage suddenly came loose. No injuries were reported. Passengers on the flight shared photos on social media showing a gaping hole in the side of the plane, behind the left wing, as if an entire section of the fuselage, around the window, had been torn off.

A passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, explained to American television CNN that the window had blown off just after takeoff. “It was really brutal. Barely at altitude, the front of the window just came off and I only noticed it when the oxygen masks came down”he said.

A 20-year-old passenger told the local newspaper The Oregonian have heard “a very loud boom” approximately 20 minutes after takeoff. “It sounded like your ears were banging like they usually do on a plane, but 10 times louder.”she said. “I couldn’t believe it was real.” According to testimonies on social networks, many objects were sucked out of the plane at the time of the accident, but fortunately, no passenger was in the immediate vicinity of the window at the time.

The plane ‘was deadly silent’

Instead of descending into chaos, a strange calm settled on the plane, according to the testimony of this passenger, while around 200 passengers were on board. “I was just praying that everything would go well”she said. “We were all calm, but I felt like I was about to cry, because who knows, it could be my last moments.”
The plane “was deathly silent. Nobody made any noise.”added Kyle Rinker, 29, in a text message.

The company announced on the social network “aware of an incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight #AS1282”. “The aircraft returned to land safely at Portland International Airport with all 171 passengers and six crew membersaccording to a press release from the airline. Although this type of incident is rare, our flight crew were trained and prepared to safely handle this situation.”

The 737-9 fleet temporarily grounded

The National Transportation Safety Board (FAA) registry indicates that the Boeing 737-9 was almost new, manufactured in 2023 and certified in November. It reached an altitude of 16,000 feet before turning back toward Portland. The FAA and Alaska Airlines have each said they are investigating the incident.

In a press release published Friday eveningthe president of the company Ben Minicucci announced to immobilize “temporarily” the 65 aircraft in its Boeing 737-9 fleet. “Each aircraft will only be returned to service after completing comprehensive maintenance and safety inspections. We expect all inspections to be completed in the coming days”he explains.