Alaska Airlines blowout: 170 planes grounded after dramatic mid-air incident on new aircraft stuns aviation experts
More than 170 Boeing planes worldwide have been temporarily grounded after a chunk of fuselage dramatically blew out of a brand-new passenger jet in mid-air.
US regulators say immediate inspections are needed after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a cabin emergency shortly after take-off on Friday.
Photos showed a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737-9 MAX – and although the jet landed safely with more than 170 passengers and six crew in Oregon, phones and a boy’s shirt were sucked out of the plane.
A gaping hole could be seen in the side of the aircraft. Pic: Kyle Rinker
Investigators are now hunting for the fuselage that blew off, and believe it is in a small suburb of Portland called Cedar Hills. Anyone who finds it is being urged to contact the police.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters that “we are very lucky” that the accident wasn’t far worse.
She revealed no one was sat in the seats immediately next to the fuselage – and because the plane had not reached cruising altitude, passengers and crew were not moving around the cabin.
Warning “there is a lot of work to do”, she stressed: “We have the safest aviation system in the world. It is incredibly safe. We are the global gold standard for safety around the world, but we have to maintain that standard.”
Ms Homendy said no serious injuries have been reported, but added it would have been a “pretty terrifying event” that affected passengers psychologically.
Pic: Elizabeth Le/AP
Alaska and United Airlines, which both have 737-9 MAXs in their fleets, have made dozens of cancellations and say it could be days until grounded planes return to service. Five aircraft belonging to Turkish Airlines are also being examined as a precaution.
It takes up to eight hours to inspect each aircraft, and the Federal Aviation Administration has warned more action may be taken.
While no 737 MAX-9 planes are registered in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority has asked all foreign airlines to perform inspections before flying into British airspace.
The Alaska Airlines aircraft involved in Friday’s incident had entered service just eight weeks earlier – and the fuselage that blew off covered a space reserved for an extra evacuation door.
While Boeing has welcomed the temporary groundings, it’s another blow for a company still trying to recover from two high-profile crashes that left its reputation in tatters.
Read more:
What ‘very dangerous’ blowout means for flights
Exterior photos suggest the rear mid-cabin exit door separated from the aircraft during the flight. Pic: KGW
Incident leaves experts stunned
Anthony Brickhouse, a professor of aerospace safety, said he was stunned that a piece of fuselage would fly off a new aircraft.
And while panels have come off planes before, he couldn’t recall an incident that left passengers “looking at the lights of the city”.
He added: “I can’t imagine what these passengers experienced. The wind would be rushing through that cabin.
“It was probably a pretty violent situation, and definitely a scary situation.”
Mr Brickhouse said it was a powerful reminder that passengers should stay buckled in throughout a flight.
And David Learmount, consulting editor at Flightglobal, told Sky News: “If there were people near it who were not wearing the seatbelts, they would have disappeared.”
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Flight was ‘trip from hell’
‘I am so sorry for what you experienced’
Passengers on board Flight 1282 – which was travelling from Portland in Oregon to Ontario in California – have been describing their ordeal.
“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,” Evan Smith told local media.
Another passenger called Elizabeth told KGW that the incident happened about 20 minutes after take-off, in the sky three miles above Oregon.
“I looked to my left, and there’s just this huge gaping hole, on the left side where the window is,” she said – describing the sound of the wind as incredibly loud.
Elizabeth said passengers and crew were calm and everybody had their seatbelt on – and a recording showed the pilot also remained composed throughout.
She was heard asking air traffic controllers for permission to descend to 10,000ft after the cabin depressurised, an altitude where healthy people can breathe without additional oxygen.
The pilot subsequently declared an emergency and said that the plane needed to return to Portland.
Alaska Airlines chief executive Ben Minicucci said: “My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced.”
Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white people in the African country.
The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of thousands of white farmers.
Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless while a montage of videos was played, and he later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the videos] I’ve never seen”.
The lights had been dimmed in the room as videos were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.
South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.
The videos include one of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.
Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers. “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety,” the US president said. “Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”
Alluding to people in the videos, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”
Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump in the Oval Office today
The US president then displayed printed copies of articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.
He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”
South African leader rejects allegations
Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.
“And in many cases or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.
“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying. Even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”
Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”
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Mr Ramaphosa said there was crime in South Africa, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”
Mr Trump has cancelled aid, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are unfounded.
Experts in South Africa say there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.
Universal has opened a new theme park to rival Disney World in Florida.
NBCUniversal owner Comcast, which also owns Sky News, is rewriting the Orlando travel itinerary with its $7bn Epic Universe.
The 750-acre park features five worlds themed around movie and game franchises NBCUniversal owns or licenses.
These include Super Nintendo World, complete with a Mario Kart ride, and the immersive Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
Pic: Reuters
Fans pose for pictures in Super Nintendo World. Pic: Reuters
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Celestial Park and Dark Universe complete the park.
The project is the first major theme park to open in the US in more than 20 years and marks Comcast’s largest investment in Universal attractions since it gained control of the business in 2011.
People riding the Dragon’s Racers Rally rollercoaster. Pic: Reuters
Comcast president Mike Cavanaugh said: “This is the one part of the media ecosystem that is not vulnerable to screen-shifting. It’s still beloved as a thing to do with friends and family.
“It would be silly not to be stepping on the gas.”
The sprawling park covers 750 acres. Pic: Reuters
Epic Universe could attract 9.5 million visitors and bring in more than $1.3bn in revenue in 2026, analyst Craig Moffett has predicted.
Another new Universal theme park is also in the pipeline, with the company set to open its first European resort in 2031.
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The park will be in Bedfordshire and is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The UK government has said it will bring in an estimated £50bn to the British economy and create around 28,000 jobs.
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