WASHINGTON – Passengers on an Alaska Airlines plane faced panic when a whole section of the aircraft ripped off mid-air.
The incident happened on Friday night when flight 1282 headed from Portland to Ontario, California, made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a panel of the fuselage, including the panel’s window, popped off after takeoff.
A video posted online shows a side section of the fuselage, where a window would have been, missing. The incident exposed the flyers to the outside air, triggering safety concerns after which oxygen masks were deployed throughout the airplane.
In a statement late Friday, Alaska Airlines said it was discussing the issue with Boeing to investigate the reasons behind the incident.
The part of the aircraft involved was the “plug door” – a specific panel of the fuselage near the rear of the aircraft, Alaska said Saturday.
Fortunately, no loss of life was reported in the incident though several flyers onboard the plane required medical attention due to injuries.
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The severity of the incident can be assessed from the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration has directed the airline to inspect its boring aircraft fleet; as per the directives, all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft would be grounded until they are carefully inspected.
“We are working with the FAA to ensure that our inspections meet their detailed requirements and comply with the EAD, but this process will take more time,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement Saturday night implying that flights could be disrupted.
“We are identifying necessary cancellations for tomorrow and expect the disruption to last through at least mid-week,” the airline said in the statement though up until now, over160 flights have been cancelled affecting over 20,000 flyers.
Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said that based on the definition of substantial damage, the airplane met an accident and not an incident.
