On Friday evening, a window cracked on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, resulting in a loss of cabin pressure and prompting the captain to make an unexpected landing back at Portland International Airport.
According to FAA documents available online, the incident happened on Alaska Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX that was originally approved by the FAA in November 2023, only two months before the flight.
Passengers on the aircraft told KPTV that they had reported a loud blast and discovered a hole in the plane’s wall where an opening had blown out at 16,000 feet. The suction allegedly dragged a youngster sitting near the window, ripping his shirt off. Some passengers also had their phones blown out of the plane. Due to decompression, a seat close to the glass was also blasted away.
So yet, no casualties have been recorded.
Alaska Airlines approved the incident that occurred on X and stated that further information would be provided when it became available.
Social media videos showed travelers wearing breathing masks and sitting peacefully as the plane touched down safely. The opening in the plane’s wall was clearly apparent, with Portland’s lights streaming through.
The Boeing 737 Max remains one of the world’s most popular airplane types, yet it has also been troubled with safety concerns and controversy. In 2018 and 2019, two tragic 737 Max accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia massacred a total of 346 people. The disasters were attributed to a defective MCAS system, which forced the plane’s nose down without the pilots’ control.