On the evening of January 5 (local time), Alaska Airlines (USA) suspended operations of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft due to an emergency landing incident.
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| Windows and part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane flew off during flight. (Source: NBC News) |
According to AFP , the move took place in the context that earlier the same day, a Boeing 737-9 of this airline carrying 177 people made an emergency landing in Oregon (USA), after a window and part of the fuselage of the plane came off during the flight.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
“Following tonight’s events on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9s,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement. “These aircraft will not be returned to service until they have completed a full maintenance and safety inspection,” which is expected to be completed in a few days.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 took off at 4:52 p.m. on January 5 (local time, or 7:52 a.m. on January 6, Vietnam time) and returned to its departure point just 20 minutes later. Alaska Airlines' announcement said: "Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an incident shortly after departure. The aircraft returned and landed safely at Portland International Airport, along with 174 passengers and 6 crew members."
The plane climbed to 15,000 feet (4,876 meters) and then began to descend, according to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware. Images sent to KPTV-TV by a passenger on the flight showed a window and a large section of the fuselage missing. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured in the incident.
Online records from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) show that the Boeing 737 Max 9 in question received its factory certification two months ago.
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