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Plane makes emergency landing after section blew out mid-flight, Alaska Airlines grounds entire Boeing 737 Max fleet
An Alaskan Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a section of the aircraft blew out mid-flight. Following the terrifying incident, Alaskan Airlines has taken the precautionary step of grounding its entire fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.
Dramatic video and photos have emerged from Alaskan Airlines Flight 1282 – which was traveling from Portland International Airport to Ontario, California. The Boeing 737-9 Max was transporting six crew members and 171 passengers, and took off shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday.
The plane was airborne for about 20 minutes until "the crew reported a pressurization issue," according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
During the flight, a section of the plane's fuselage fell off – including the panel's window. Luckily, no passengers were sitting in the window seat next to the huge opening.
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The sudden damage to the airliner caused cell phones belonging to passengers to be sucked out of the gaping hole in the plane.
A child sitting relatively close to the damaged part of the airliner lost his shirt because of the vacuum of the damaged plane.
Video shows oxygen masks deployed throughout the plane.
A photo of the alarming occurrence was captured by passenger Kyle Rinker.
“It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” Rinker told CNN.
Passenger Evan Smith told KPTV, "There was a really loud bang toward the rear of the plane, and a whoosh noise, and all of the masks dropped."
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Flight 1282 made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport at 5:27 p.m., according to FlightAware.
The Port of Portland Fire Department responded to the emergency landing and noted that one person received medical treatment but no serious injuries were reported.
Alaskan Airlines said in a statement, "The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority. So while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation."
Alaskan Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.
Alaskan Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said of the incident:
At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. 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. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days. I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way. We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available.
Boeing said in a statement, "We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer."
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are launching investigations into the situation with the Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.
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Co-pilot who exited plane without parachute at 3,500 feet was 'visibly upset' about prior hard landing and 'apologized' before departing aircraft, NTSB report says
A co-pilot who mysteriously exited a small plane without a parachute 3,500 feet above North Carolina on July 29 was "visibly upset" about a prior hard landing and "apologized" before departing the aircraft, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report, WRAL-TV said.
The body of Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was found in a Fuquay-Varina backyard hours after the pilot-in-command landed the plane at Raleigh-Durham International Airport that same day, the station said.
What are the details?
The unnamed pilot-in-command told the NTSB the pair had flown two skydiving runs that day and were attempting to land at Raeford West Airport to pick up a third group, WRAL said.
Crooks was flying the approach when the plane descended below the tree line and "dropped," the station said, adding that both pilots called for a "go-around maneuver," which Crooks initiated.
But before Crooks could begin climbing, the right main landing gear hit the runway, WRAL reported.
The pilot-in-command took over control from Crooks and flew a low approach so airfield personnel could verify damage, the station said, adding that airfield employees communicated that they recovered a broken piece of the landing gear on the runway.
With that, the pilot-in-command told Crooks to declare an emergency and request diversion to Raleigh-Durham for a landing, WRAL said.
The pilot-in-command reported moderate turbulence during the flight and that about 20 minutes into the diversion to Raleigh-Durham — after conducting an approach and emergency briefing — Crooks became "visibly upset" about the hard landing, the station said.
According to the report, Crooks had been communicating with air traffic control up until that point, WRAL said, adding that the pilot-in-command said after Crooks' final transmission, Crooks opened his side cockpit window and "may have gotten sick."
The pilot-in-command then took over radio communications, the station said, adding that Crooks lowered the ramp in the back of the plane, "indicating that felt like he was going to be sick and needed air."
The report added that Crooks "got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door," WRAL said.
In addition, the pilot-in-command told investigators Crooks did not appear to reach for a bar about six feet above the ramp before his exit from the plane, USA Today noted, citing the three-page NTSB report.
Co-pilot was 'visibly upset' and 'may have gotten sick'; In control at time of mishapyoutu.be
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