Alaska Airlines (ALK) – Get a free report has grounded its 65 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a flight from Portland, Oregon, saw part of its fuselage explode Friday night.
The plane was able to make an emergency landing. Miraculously, there were only minor injuries, but passengers later described a loud explosion, followed by the deployment of oxygen masks in the cabin.
a passenger told the New York Times“I thought I was going to die.”
The move forced the airline to cancel more than 100 flights on Saturday. The Seattle Times reported. The total represents about 13% of the airline's scheduled flights on Saturday. More than 60 additional flights were delayed.
United Airlines, which has 78 737 Max 9 planes, recalled some for immediate inspections. Bloomberg News reported.
The 737 Max family of aircraft has had a troubled history. Two flights in 2018 and 2019 crashed, killing hundreds of people. The entire world fleet was grounded for 20 months.
Flight 1282 had just taken off from Portland International Airport at 5:07 pm Pacific time on Friday, bound for Ontario, California, near Los Angeles. He landed back in Portland at 5:20 p.m.
The flight carried 171 passengers and six crew members.
The incident occurred when the plane reached an altitude of about 16,000 feet, about three miles. Commercial airline flights typically cruise at about 30,000 feet.
Passengers said the missing section of the plane was an aft door on the left side.
Alaska's seating configuration for the 737-9 is not dense enough to require mid-aft cabin exit, according to a post by Flightradar24, which tracks airline activity. on X, formerly Twitter. Therefore, the door is disabled and standard side panels are used inside. “For a passenger, it's like any other seat,” the post said.
The window seat was unoccupied, with a teenager and his mother in the middle and aisle seats.
The boy's shirt was torn off and some passengers suggested he was almost torn off as the wind howled in the cabin. according to the Oregon newspaper. But his mother forced him to return. The cabin crew took the mother and son to another part.
Reports said the passengers were silent as the plane descended, but burst into applause when the plane landed.
After, passengers posted videos from experience on X, formerly Twitter, and elsewhere. Many had reservations on new flights.
Friday afternoon, Alaska (ALK) – Get a free report Announced had grounded the 65 737 Max 9 planes. Each will not return to service until it has been inspected, a process the airline says could take a few days.
The affected planes, according to the Times, represent about a fifth of Alaska's fleet.
Related: American Airlines Flight Attendants Reveal Secrets Passengers Don't Know
In the airline's statement, Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said the airline, the nation's fifth-largest, was cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board's Boeing. (licensed in letters) – Get a free reportthe plane's manufacturer and others to investigate the cause.
“Safety is our core value and the most important thing we focus on every day,” Minicucci's statement said.
Boeing issued a statement on Friday it said it had a technical team ready to assist in the investigation. Given the history of the plane, it is possible that further investigations will be opened. On Saturday, Indian regulators ordered Indian airlines to inspect their planes.
The Alaska plane was new and had been certified in November, according to the FAA registration of planes, the Times reported. It entered commercial service that month and has since logged 145 flights, according to flight radar24a light tracking site.
Alaska and Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Get a free report They are among a number of airlines that use only Boeing flights in their business.
Alaska, based in Seattle, typically gets high marks for its customer service. The stock closed up 3.1% at $37.95 on Friday before the incident.
