Alaska Airlines Flight: What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737-9 MAX and Its Impact on Other Airlines | World News
A frightening mid-air blowout on board a Boeing 737-9 MAX passenger plane caused numerous aircraft around the globe to be grounded as engineers work to determine the cause.
Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland to California experienced a window and chunk of fuselage blowing out of the plane shortly after takeoff on January 5, resulting in six injured passengers.
The safety of the jets remains in question, and various airlines have issued statements regarding the actions they are taking or have sought to reassure customers that they do not operate the same variant of the plane.
During the Alaska Airlines flight, passengers heard “a big loud bang” and a “whooshing sound.” Shocking videos and images from passengers showed a large hole in the side of the plane next to passenger seats, with deployed oxygen masks. The plane landed safely with 171 passengers and six crew members.
The particular issue with the aircraft involved a plug covering a spot left for an emergency door, which is believed to have torn off the plane as it flew over Oregon at 16,000 feet. These door plugs are inserted on MAX 9s with more than about 200 seats, and on aircraft like the one operated by Alaska Airlines, the heavy doors are replaced with these plugs.
