Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing at PDX after window blew out
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Alaska Airlines plane headed for Ontario, Calif. had to make an emergency landing after a portion of the aircraft blew out mid-air Friday night.
According to Flight Aware flight trackers, the plane originally departed from the Portland International Airport around 5 p.m. and “quickly turned around” after reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet.
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The plane quickly diverted and landed safely at PDX shortly before 5:30 p.m.
Social media video appeared to show that one of the passenger window panels had been blown out.
(Courtesy: Anonymous passenger) Courtesy: KTLA
The flight included 171 passengers and six crew members, Alaska Airline officials confirmed to KOIN 6.
CBS News reported that immediately after the incident, the pilot radioed to the air traffic controller, declaring that the flight had depressurized.
“We’re declaring an emergency,” the pilot said. “We do need to come down to 10,000.”
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“The oxygen masks dropped down, and I look to my left to hear and see wind blasting, with a piece of the wall gone,” said passenger Elizabeth Le. “There was no one in the window seat but a mom and her teenage son sitting [on] the aisle.”
Le said the mother apparently saved her son from getting pulled out of the plane.
“I looked up and saw that the son’s shirt was completely off and his skin was very red, most likely due to the cold air. I heard after from the son’s friend that the mom had to drag him back into the plane after the piece flew off.”
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One passenger told KOIN 6 about the reaction from others on the plane.
“Everyone was very calm, actually. It kind of helped. Everyone was just focused on making sure we were back on the ground safely,” he said.
He also said that other passengers heard a pop on the plane and that people’s belongings flew out.
The airline released the following statement Friday night: “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. We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available.“
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CBS News that the crew reported a “pressurization issue,” which the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 flight was certified in November 2023. Boeing said it has a technical team standing by to support the investigations.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.
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