The exit door of an Alaska Airlines plane which separated from the aircraft mid-air and led to an emergency landing in Portland, US, on Friday (local time) is usually not operational as it is permanently sealed or “plugged” on the airlines’ aircraft, according to a report.
According to flight tracking website, Flightradar24, there is an additional exit door located behind the wings but before the rear exit door on the Boeing 737-9 MAX model.
This extra door is intended for use in high-density seating configurations to ensure compliance with evacuation regulations. However, on Alaska Airlines’ aircraft, these doors are permanently sealed or “plugged”, the report by Flightradar24 stated.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland in the US’s Oregon state on Friday (local time) after an exit door and a chunk of its fuselage blew out in mid-air. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured. There were 174 passengers and six crew on board.
The flight, which had been bound for Ontario in California, landed safely back at Portland at 5:26 pm (local time) after the incident soon after departure. The plane rose as high as 16,000 feet during the flight and then suddenly began descending, according to data from flight analysers.
BOEING ISSUES STATEMENT
Boeing said in a statement that it was looking into the emergency landing.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” the company said in a statement. “We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation.”
Social media posts showed a window and a portion of a side wall missing on the airplane, and oxygen masks deployed.
PASSENGERS RECALL ‘NIGHTMARE’ EXPERIENCE
Passengers narrated their harrowing experience on the flight, calling it a nightmare.
A 22-year-old passenger told the New York Times, “I open up my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me. And I look to the left and the wall on the side of the plane is gone. The first thing I thought was, ‘I’m going to die.'”
An air safety expert, Anthony Brickhouse, said, “I can’t imagine what these passengers experienced. It would have been loud. The wind would be rushing through that cabin. It was probably a pretty violent situation and definitely a scary situation.”
