Tipsheet

Terror in the Skies: Door Panel Completely Blows Off During Alaska Airlines Flight

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 06, 2024 12:30 PM

I agree with Barstool Sports—this story is straight nightmare fuel. An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, was forced to make an emergency landing after a section of the plane blew off. The incident occurred not long after takeoff. Video of the aftermath of the panel being blown off was taken, and the footage is tense, to say the least. Passengers can be heard saying how lucky no one was sitting right where the panel was dislodged (via ABC News): 


An Alaska Airlines flight returned to Portland, Oregon, soon after takeoff after it "experienced an incident," the airline said Friday. 

Six crew members and 171 passengers were on board Flight 1282 bound for Ontario, California, the airline said. 

The cabin became depressurized shortly after take-off and the pilots asked for an emergency landing, according to the transcript of an air traffic control call from LiveATC.net. A photo posted on social media appeared to show a hole in the fuselage next to a passenger seat. 

"The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority," Alaska said in a statement, "so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation." 

The damage appeared to be in the location of a "plug," said John J. Nance, an ABC News aviation analyst. Those are spots in the fuselage shaped similar to a door that aren't designed to open, even when the aircraft is on the ground. They could be converted to doors if the airline needs an extra boarding door. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. It's another chapter in a series of unfortunate events for Alaska Airlines and its regional carriers. In 2018, a man stole an empty Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 from Sea-Tac Airport, flew to Ketron Island, and intentionally crashed it. Another pilot got busted for being in the cockpit of an aircraft after ingesting psychedelic mushrooms and was accused of trying to crash the airplane. Over 80 attempted murder charges were brought forward but eventually got dropped for multiple counts of reckless endangerment.

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UPDATE: FAA says it will temporarily ground some flights involving the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, the one involved in this Alaska Airlines incident (via NBC News):

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The Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday it will temporarily ground some Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes used by U.S. airlines after a chunk of a wall appeared to have detached from an Alaska Airlines flight midair.

“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 planes before they can return to flight,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”

The FAA said it will also ground 737 Max 9 planes that operate in U.S. territory. In total, the order will affect about 171 airplanes worldwide, the FAA said.

Alaska Airlines had inspected over a quarter of its 737 Max 9 fleet, it said Saturday.