Alaska Airlines grounds all Boeing 737-9 MAX planes after mid-flight window blowout
A passenger has described the moment a window and chunk of fuselage blew out of a passenger plane in mid-air shortly after take-off in the US state of Oregon.
Alaska Airlines passenger Evan Smith said a boy and his mother were sitting in the row where the window blew out and the boy’s shirt was torn off him and sucked out of the plane.
“You heard a big loud bang to the left rear. A whooshing sound and all the oxygen masks deployed instantly and everyone got those on,” he told local broadcaster KATU.
A gaping hole could be seen in the side of the aircraft. Pic: Kyle Rinker
Photos and videos from passengers showed a large hole in the side of the plane next to passenger seats, with oxygen masks deployed.
The airline has since grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 MAX planes after the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurise.
The Boeing 737-9 MAX was diverted after reaching 16,000ft about six minutes after taking off at 5.07pm, according to flight tracking data from FlightAware. It made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport at 5.26pm.
Alaska Airlines said the plane landed safely with 171 passengers and six crew members.
The flight from Portland to Ontario, California, “experienced an incident this evening soon after departure”, the company said.
“While this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane landed safely after the crew reported a pressurisation issue. It said it would investigate.
The rear mid-cabin exit door appeared to have separated from the aircraft. Pic: KGW
Night sky seen through hole in fuselage
Footage and photos taken inside the plane show the night sky through the hole in the aircraft’s fuselage.
The nearest seat is missing its cushion and insulation material can be seen around the gap.
Exterior photos suggest the rear mid-cabin exit door separated from the aircraft during the flight.
The MAX 9 features a rear cabin door behind the wings that can be “activated in dense seating configurations to meet evacuation requirements”, according to FlightRadar24, but these are permanently “plugged” or deactivated on Alaska Airlines planes.
The Boeing 737-9 MAX came off the assembly line and received its certification just two months ago, according to online FAA records.
It had been on 145 flights since entering commercial service on 11 November, according to FlightRadar24. The flight from Portland was the aircraft’s third of the day.
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British aviation authority ‘monitoring situation very closely’
The National Transport Safety Board said it was investigating the incident in a post on X.
A spokesperson for the British Civil Aviation Authority told Sky News: “We are aware of this incident and monitoring the situation very closely.”
Alaska Airlines chief executive Ben Minicucci said each Boeing 737-9 MAX would only be returned to service after full maintenance and safety inspections, which he anticipated the airline would complete within days.
“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” he said.
“My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced.
“We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available.”
Boeing 737 MAX had been grounded for year-and-a-half
Last week, Boeing said it was urging airlines to inspect all 737 MAX planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.
The FAA said it was closely monitoring Boeing 737 MAX inspections and would consider additional action if more loose or missing hardware was found.
The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded for a year-and-a-half after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
Donald Trump has said he will cancel all executive orders that he claims were signed with an autopen by his predecessor Joe Biden.
The US president alleged Mr Biden was “not involved” in signing the orders and claimed “the radical left lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the presidency away from him”. He did not provide any evidence for his claims.
An autopen is a device which reproduces a person’s signature, allowing them to repeatedly sign documents without having to do so by hand each time.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.
“The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.”
He added: “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.
“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
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Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed Mr Biden was not mentally capable by the end of his term and his staff made decisions on his behalf, using an autopen to sign them off without his knowledge.
Mr Trump has not provided any evidence for his claims, while Mr Biden and his former aides have denied they made decisions on his behalf.
In June, Mr Biden said: “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency.
“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Mr Trump has also used an autopen, but claimed he only used it “for very unimportant papers”.
Pic: Reuters
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Trump trolls Biden with new ‘presidential portrait’
Earlier this year, Mr Trump replaced a portrait of Mr Biden in the Oval Office with a picture of an autopen signing the former president’s name.
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