Boeing 737 carrying 177 people had its emergency exit door blown open at an altitude of 4,800m

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX flight number 1282, carrying 177 passengers, took off from Portland International Airport (Oregon) to Ontario (California), USA, and returned safely, "after the flight crew reported a pressure problem".

According to flight tracking website FlightAware, the plane reached an altitude of more than 15,000 feet before turning around and returning to Portland airport 20 minutes later.

Windows and part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane were blown off. (Photo: NBC News)

Images uploaded to social media showed a window and part of the fuselage missing, and oxygen masks also dropped.

A passenger on the flight said the window blew out shortly after takeoff.

Another witness described a child sitting closest to the blown-out window and all passengers having to hold on to their seats as loose items flew out of the plane due to the sudden loss of pressure.

Images shared on image-sharing site Imgur also show the emergency exit door in the middle of the rear cabin being blown off the plane during the flight.

Video from the passenger cabin after a section of the plane broke off in mid-air. (Source: CBS)

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crew reported a pressure problem and will investigate the incident further.

“Anytime you depressurize that quickly, it’s a major safety issue,” Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told Reuters.

“This is a very serious situation and it could have been a lot worse,” he added.

Boeing said in a statement that it was looking into the incident, adding that a technical team was ready to assist in the investigation.

Alaska Airlines said the incident was rare, but crews were trained and prepared to handle the situation safely. The airline also announced the grounding of all 65 of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft.

According to the FAA's registration website, the plane was certified airworthy in October 2023.

The Boeing 737 MAX has previously been under close scrutiny by the FAA.

The passenger airline was grounded for 20 months worldwide after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Hoa Vu (Source: Independent)

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