One near-tragic, nightmare flight impacted thousands of travelers after a chunk of a plane went missing shortly after takeoff.
(Video: KPTV)
An engineering option proved more than problematic Friday as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the grounding of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after the “door plug” of one such plane burst off shortly after departing Portland International Airport Friday night.
“I open my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me,” Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 passenger 22-year-old Vi Nguyen told The New York Times. “And I look to the left and the wall on the side of the plane is gone.”
The Ontario, California-bound flight was only about 10 minutes underway and still climbing toward cruising altitude when a panel that would allow for the installation of an additional emergency exit ripped free of the plane resulting in a rapid depressurization, the deployment of oxygen masks and reports of one boy losing his shirt as other items were pulled out of the aircraft.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘I’m going to die,'” added Nguyen to the Times.
Elizabeth Le, Nguyen’s 20-year-old friend, reported hearing “an extremely loud pop” and told the newspaper, “It was honestly horrifying.”
“I almost broke down, but I realized I needed to remain calm.”
When the wall of the plane just breaks off mid flight @AlaskaAir pic.twitter.com/pMWhpiHmFY
— Kyle Rinker (@Kyrinker) January 6, 2024
During a press conference regarding the incident, which required the flight to turn back and make an emergency landing in Oregon, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy explained that the flight had reached an altitude of 16,000 feet when the door plug blew out, 4,000 feet above the threshold where passengers are considered safe without supplemental oxygen.
Though Alaska Airlines had conducted inspections and cleared 18 of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft Saturday, the FAA ordered all U.S. airlines to temporarily ground similarly configured planes to undergo a more in-depth inspection.
Homendy had explained that the plane, with just over 170 passengers, had been configured to carry 178 and did not require an extra emergency exit. Had it been configured for 215 passengers, the section that blew out would have been fitted with a door instead of the plug installed to fill the space.
“We are very, very fortunate here that this didn’t end up in something more tragic. No one was seated in 26A and 26B, where that door plug is,” she noted.
Jessica Kowal, a spokeswoman for Boeing, said in a statement, “Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the F.A.A.’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane.”
Similarly, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said, “We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available.”
Flash:#AlaskaAirlines temporarily grounded its entire fleet of #Boeing 737-9 aircraft. The decision came after one of the planes experienced mid-air emergency on Friday (local time) when an exit door detached from aircraft, leading to an urgent landing in #Portland.
Soon after… pic.twitter.com/8VVdBPExkS
— Yuvraj Singh Mann (@yuvnique) January 6, 2024
“My heart goes out to those who were on this flight — I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants,” the airline CEO added. “We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead.”
Flight 1282 and our next steps with the Boeing MAX-9: https://t.co/LFxJvQYNcA pic.twitter.com/oemRokr1tz
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 6, 2024
Alaska Airlines indicated that about 23,000 passengers were impacted after they had to cancel 160 flights as it operates 65 of the specific model Boeing. United Airlines, operating 79 of the basically brand-new aircraft, also had to work to cover impacted travelers.
Forgotten but not gone, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose tenure has been marked by numerous catastrophes, shared the FAA’s statement from Saturday and remarked, “Safety will always be the top priority for our Department and for FAA. Administrator Whitaker has acted to order these aircraft grounded pending the inspections necessary to ensure that they are safe to operate.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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