On Friday, January 5th, at 5:07, a hole on Alaskan Airlines flight 1282 opened up on the emergency exit next to seat 26C after already reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet above sea level as it was traveling towards Ontario, California.
However, this has not been the first accident that has occurred, but rather one more incident in a pattern throughout these several years of constant investigation. In fact, in October, 2018, the Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people. Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 killed 157 people as it struck the waters off northeast Jakarta. Both of these planes were Boeing 737 Max planes, the previous model of the current aircraft. As a result, for more than 600 days, the entire 737 Max air fleet was globally grounded until January, 2023. The current model, Boeing 737 Max 9 has only been utilized since October, 2023, according to FAA records.
This time, on the Alaskan Airlines flight, the plug holding the fuselage detached, causing the hole to expand on the exit door located next to seat 26C. However, the two closest seats to the open door, 26A and 26B, remained vacant. As the plane’s 171 passengers were exposed to the open air at a high altitude, all of the air pressure contained inside the plane was lost. The pilot declared this situation an emergency, causing them to perform a critical descent to Portland Airport. The aircraft landed at 5:26 p.m., only 20 minutes after take-off. Once the plane landed, at 5:34 p.m., firefighters boarded the plane, assisting the injured passengers who remained in their seats.
Finally at 12:00 a.m., the investigation of the Alaskan Airlines’ 65 planes began. These investigations prevented any aircrafts from that fleet from operating until the end of their safety inspections. However, as Alaskan Airlines stated, after inspecting a quarter of the fleet, that “no concerning findings [were made].” Still, United Airlines also grounded the operation of the Boeing 737 Max 9 model, requiring it to undergo an inspection by the FAA. As a result, the FAA suspended 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts globally, including United’s 79 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. In addition, on Sunday, January 7th, about 700 flights were canceled as a result of the incident. At 9:00 p.m., it was also discovered by NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) during a press conference that the door plug that fell off of the fuselage was located in a backyard in Portland.
In a final statement by the FAA, since this was a grave emergency incident, causing various injuries to passengers, which were all treated, all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts that contain a plug door will continue to be suspended until the agency declares them safe again to return to regular operation.
