A passenger plane, the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, had to make an emergency landing in Oregon after losing a section of its fuselage including a door in mid-air.
There were 177 passengers and crew on the flight; it landed safely with no reported casualties.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a 737 MAX 9, experienced rapid decompression shortly after taking off from Portland International Airport due to a plug blowing out. The MAX 9 features a rear mid-cabin exit door on each side behind the wings that is required when used with dense seating configurations. When dense seating configurations are not used, the doors are not installed and a plug is installed.
The aircraft quickly returned to Portland with no major injuries or fatalities among the 171 passengers and 6 crew, though some personal items and cabin trim were sucked out of the aircraft.
The incident was promptly acknowledged and is currently under investigation by the FAA, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, and the NTSB.
Following the incident, the airline decided to temporarily ground all 65 of its 737 Max 9 aircraft for inspections.
Boeing confirmed they were aware of the incident and mentioned providing support for the investigation.
The aircraft had reached an altitude of 16,000ft when it began its emergency descent.
The UDS National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the incident.
