Alaska Airlines has grounded its fleet of all 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after one of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 (N704AL) flight #AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA, lost its window panel shortly after takeoff on January 5. The cabin’s oxygen masks were released. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 174 passengers and 6 crew members.
The aircraft is brand new, only 2 months old, with its first flight on October 15, 2023. The carrier has grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for a thorough inspection that is supposed to be completed within few days.
The CEO of Alaska Airlines Ben Minicucci expressed they were working with Boeing and regulators to understand the occurrence and NTSB is currently investigating the happening. He also expressed his apologies for the trouble and inconvenience the passengers had to suffer due to the incident.
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About the incident
Passenger Evan Smith stated to CNN affiliate KPTV that he was seated at least six seats forward of the area where the incident occurred. Smith reported, “There was a whoosh noise and a really loud bang toward the rear of the plane, and all of the masks dropped.”
Another passenger, Emma Vu, told CNN over the phone that she felt like she was falling and saw emergency masks drop down when she woke up from sleep. It was unclear how near she was to the missing panel, but she seemed to have woken up after the panel part had popped off.
Vu claimed that after the incident, she texted her parents her code word for emergencies. Although I’ve never needed to use it, I knew that this was the time, Vu remarked.
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She added that the people seated on either side of her consoled her. “It’s going to be alright, the flight attendant told me,” Vu added. “It was really sweet that she took the time to make me feel like I was the only passenger, even though everyone else was kind of freaking out.”
Vu stated that she would be traveling to her planned destination early on Saturday morning on a separate airplane.
