Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
NEW YORK, 7th Jan. According to news media reports on Saturday the major incident was averted after an exit door of an Alaska Airlines passenger plane Boeing 737-9 Max blew out mid-air, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Friday night.
Media reported that there were 171 passengers and 6 crew members onboard the aircraft at the time of the incident.
Videos shared by social media users showed the exit door of the aircraft completely open as passengers wore emergency oxygen masks.
Alaska Airlines said that the incident took place after the flight AS1282 from Portland to Ontario took off and it landed safely with 171 passengers and six crew members.
Alaska Airlines said in a post on ‘X that “AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA (California) experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available”’.
The incident was caused by severe depressurisation, resulted in the ejection of the large mid-cabin window section.
No injuries were reported from the incident, which is being investigated by the airlines, it stated.
Flightradar24, a real-time flight tracking website said that “The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 16,325 feet AMSL. It diverted safely back to Portland, landing at 17:26, reaching the gate at 17:30,”.
The AS1282 was the aircraft’s third flight of the day. It had flown from San Diego to New York overnight and then on to Portland before the incident took place, it added.
