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.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has directly called on his US and Chinese counterparts to join his latest summit for peace in Ukraine.
Speaking from Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday, Mr Zelenskyy announced a “global peace summit”, co-hosted by Switzerland, starting on 15 June.
He claimed 80 countries have already confirmed their attendance.
But he said: “I am appealing to the global leaders of the world who are still outside the global efforts of the global peace summit.
“To President Biden, the leader of the United States, and to President Xi, the leader of China, we do not want the UN charter to be burned.
“Please show your leadership in advancing the peace.”
Residents evacuated from a building hit by strikes in Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
He added that it must be “real peace – not just a pause in the strikes” after various ceasefire breaches by the Russians.
Finally, he urged: “The efforts of the global majority are the best guarantee that all commitments will be fulfilled.”
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Shopping mall hit by strike in Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Printworks and shopping centre targeted this week
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, with a pre-war population of 1.5 million people, is close to the frontline, and has been consistently targeted since the initial invasion in February 2022.
On Thursday, its ‘Vivat’ printworks, which is the country’s largest, was hit by missiles, killing seven people, and destroying an estimated 50,000 books. A further 21 people were injured, Ukrainian officials said.
On Saturday, a strike on a shopping centre killed six people, injured 40, and left a further 16 unaccounted for, local authorities said.
Elsewhere in the city, an additional 11 people were injured as a result of strikes, including a 13-year-old boy.
Just over the border, in Russia’s Belgorod region, the regional governor there said four residents died as a result of Ukrainian attacks on Saturday.
Aftermath of Russian strike on Kharkiv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Zelenskyy warned a new Russian offensive is being planned northwest of Kharkiv.
Ukrainians and military analysts have repeatedly warned of depleting weapon supplies on the frontline.
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Earlier this month the US agreed to a further $2bn (£1.6bn) in military support for Ukraine.
It has consistently resisted calls to send US troops there, in line with NATO’s refusal for direct involvement in the conflict.
China has resisted calls by NATO and its member states to take a direct stance against Russia in support of Ukraine.
President Xi hosted Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a show of “friendship” earlier this month.
Hamas has launched rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza for the first time in months.
The barrage of rockets set off air raid sirens in cities as far away as Tel Aviv.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January, although Palestinian militants have continued to sporadically fire rockets and mortar rounds at communities along the Gaza border since then.
Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Israeli military said eight projectiles crossed into Israel after being launched from the area of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli forces recently launched an incursion.
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At least six newborn babies have died after a fire broke out at a children’s hospital in India, according to reports.
Firefighters said they carried 12 newborns out of the centre in the Vivek Vihar district of east New Delhi late on Saturday night, but five of them died due to smoke inhalation.
Two other infants are believed to have already died, according to local media. There are differing reports as to whether six or seven infants have been killed so far.
Another five survived and are being treated in a nearby hospital, Delhi fire department chief Atul Garg said.
The blaze, which broke out on the first floor of the hospital, was put out after about an hour.
Burnt registration cards lie on the floor of the hospital. Pic: AP
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Mr Garg told the ANI news agency that an oxygen cylinder blast was the likely cause of the fire, but there has been no official confirmation.
“It was a very tough operation,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.
“We made two teams. One team started firefighting because there was a blast of cylinders. We can say it was a chain of blasts of cylinders.
“We had to save ourselves also. We started rescue operations for babies as well. Unfortunately, we could not save all the children… That is a regrettable incident.”
The owner of the baby hospital has fled, according to Delhi police.
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, called the fire “heartbreaking”, adding that the “causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared”.
Machines move debris after a fire in Rajkot. Pic: Reuters
Earlier on Saturday, at least 27 people were killed in a fire at a crowded amusement park in the city of Rajkot in Gujarat state in western India.
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