American airline Alaska Airlines has grounded all 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft after one of them had to make an emergency landing at Portland Airport, in Oregon after the explosion of a door shortly after takeoff, which occurred yesterday around 5 p.m. local time (today 2 a.m. in Italy), without casualties. “Following what happened on Flight 1282, as a precautionary measure we have decided to ground our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” said Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines. “Each aircraft will only be returned to service after all our safety and maintenance inspections have been completed,” Minicucci added, explaining that the checks will take a few days.
Video emergency landing for Alaska Airlines flight
The crew of Flight 1282 responded to an alarm reporting a problem with cabin pressure by releasing oxygen masks to passengers. Photos published on X by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) show that one of the windows was missing after departure. Kyle Rinker, one of the passengers on the flight, said that shortly after takeoff from Portland, the window was sucked out with a “bang.” “But it was all sudden and we didn’t realize what was happening until the masks were taken off,” Riker said.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight No. AS1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. “A Boeing technical team is ready to assist in the investigation,” Boieng wrote on X.
According to the FAA registration website, the plane was certified airworthy in October and was just delivered to Alaska Airlines.
177 people on board, all safe
There were 177 people on board, 171 passengers and 6 crew members, all uninjured. Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport on Friday evening and made an emergency landing there about 20 minutes later after cabin crew reported a “pressure issue,” the Federal Air Force reported. One passenger, Vi Nguyen, told the New York Times that a loud noise woke him up during the flight. “I open my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me,” Nguyen told the newspaper. “And when I look to the left, the wall on the side of the plane has disappeared.” “The first thing I thought was, 'I'm going to die,'” he added.
A Passenger's Story: “The Suction Tore A Boy's Shirt Off”
A young passenger sitting near the window that exploded in flight had his shirt torn off by the powerful pressure release suction created by the hole in the fuselage, sending his garment ejecting from the plane. The episode was told to Sky News by passenger Evan Smith, who saw with his own eyes what happened to the boy, who was sitting next to his mother in the row where the fuselage opened. “There was a loud bang at the rear left. Then there was a sound like wind and in a few moments the masks fell and everyone put them on,” Smith continued.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA