Alaska Airlines have grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft after a window and piece of fuselage from one of the planes blew out in midair and forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
Key points:
- The airline says the plane landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members
- Each aircraft will be returned to service after full maintenance and safety inspections
- Flight data shows the plane climbed to 4,876 metres
The incident occurred shortly after take-off on Friday (local time) and the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurise.
Flight data showed the plane climbed to 4,876 metres before returning to Portland International Airport.
The airline said the plane landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.
“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.
Each of the aircraft will be returned to service after full maintenance and safety inspections, which Mr Minicucci said the airline anticipated completing within days.
The airline provided no immediate information about whether anyone was injured or the possible cause of the incident.
According to flight tracking data from the Flight Aware website, the plane was diverted for about six minutes after taking off at 5:07 pm.
The plane landed at 5:26 pm.
The pilot told Portland air traffic controllers the plane had an emergency, was depressurised and needed to return to the airport, according to a recording made by the website LiveATC.net.
Video shared on social media showed people wearing oxygen masks and passengers clapping as the plane landed.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was investigating an event on the flight and would post updates when they are available.
The Federal Aviation Administration also said it would investigate.
The Boeing 737-9 MAX involved in the incident rolled off the assembly line and received its certification just two months ago, according to online FAA records.
The plane had been on 145 flights since entering commercial service on November 11, said FlightRadar24, another tracking service.
The flight from Portland was the aircraft’s third one of the day.
Boeing said it was aware of the incident, and was working to gather more information and was ready to support the investigation.
AP/ABC