Alaska Airlines with 171 Passengers and 6 Crew Members Onboard
No Fatalities Except Some Minor Injuries
A large hole was torn in the Boeing 737 Max passenger plane of Alaska Airlines while flying in the United States, causing an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. Fortunately, there were no injuries other than minor ones.
On the 6th (local time), AP, AFP, The New York Times (NYT), CNN, and other media reported that Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane that took off from Portland International Airport in Oregon around 5 p.m. the previous day, had part of its fuselage torn off shortly after takeoff, returned to the airport, and made an emergency landing. Alaska Airlines also issued a statement saying that the aircraft, carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members, a total of 177 people, "landed safely" at Portland Airport.
A hole pierced on the side of the fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight 1281 737 Max passenger plane, which took off from Portland Airport, Oregon, USA on the 5th (local time) but returned and made an emergency landing due to a pressure issue. [Image source: Provided by Kyle Rinker’s X account, Reuters Yonhap News] Photo by Kyle Rinker
The plane returned to its departure point just 20 minutes after departing for Ontario International Airport. Flight tracking site FlightAware reported that the plane departed Portland Airport for Ontario International Airport at 5:07 p.m. on the 5th, turned back to Portland Airport 6 minutes later, and landed at 5:27 p.m. before returning. Before turning back, the plane climbed to an altitude of 16,000 feet (4,876 m) and reached a maximum speed of 440 miles per hour (708 km/h).
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated, "The crew reported a pressure issue and safely returned." However, the plane returned with a large hole torn in the side of the fuselage.
Kyle Linker, who was on board, told CNN, "It was really sudden. As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the windows and walls burst." Another passenger, Bi Nguyen (22), recalled, "I was asleep and woke up to a loud noise and saw oxygen masks in front of me. When I looked to the left, the side wall of the plane was gone. The first thought that came to me was 'I'm going to die.'" Nguyen’s friend Elizabeth Le (20) also said, "There was a very loud 'bang' sound," and "When I looked up, I saw a hole in the plane’s wall about 2 to 3 rows away."
Fortunately, the window seat right next to the hole was empty, but a teenage boy and his mother were seated in the middle and aisle seats. Due to the hole in the fuselage, the boy’s shirt flew outside the plane, and flight attendants immediately guided their hats to other seats on the opposite side, passengers said.
After the emergency landing, paramedics boarded the plane to check for injuries. A man sitting just behind the hole was reported to have injured his foot. The Alaska Airlines flight attendants union said one flight attendant also sustained minor injuries.
The aircraft was delivered and certified in November last year and began commercial operations on the 11th of the same month, having flown a total of 145 flights so far.
The 737 Max is a model that was grounded worldwide for 20 months after two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that caused 346 deaths. The FAA banned the operation of this model entirely in March 2019 but lifted the ban in November 2020. Last month, an international airline discovered during routine maintenance that screws in the 737 Max’s rudder system were missing or loosely fastened, prompting Boeing to request inspections from airlines worldwide.
Alaska Airlines announced it would temporarily suspend operations of all 65 of its 737 Max aircraft, including the one involved in this incident, and conduct thorough inspections. Boeing also issued a statement saying, "We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282," and "We are working to gather more information and our technical team is prepared to assist with the investigation."
Alaska Airlines, the FAA, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the exact cause of the accident.
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