An Alaska Airlines aircraft takes off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 4, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines will briefly floor its fleet of 65 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a section of the aircraft blew out midflight on Friday, forcing the crew to make an emergency touchdown.
“Each plane shall be returned to service solely after completion of full upkeep and security inspections,” CEO Ben Minicucci mentioned. “We anticipate all inspections shall be accomplished within the subsequent few days.”
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was heading to Ontario, California, from Portland when it returned shortly after departure with 171 passengers and 6 crew aboard, the airline mentioned.
Images and video of the brand new (*9*)Boeing 737 Max 9 shared on social media confirmed a gaping gap on the facet of the aircraft and passengers utilizing oxygen masks. It landed again in Portland at 5:26 p.m. native time, in keeping with Flightradar24. It had reached an altitude of greater than 16,000 ft.
The National Transportation Safety Board mentioned it’s investigating the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration additionally mentioned it plans to analyze.
“While this sort of incidence is uncommon, our flight crew was educated and ready to soundly handle the scenario,” Alaska mentioned.
The aircraft was licensed in November, in keeping with flight-tracking website FlightConscious.
Boeing additionally mentioned it was conscious of the incident.