In total nightmare-fuel for anyone with aerophobia, a flight in the US was forced to make an emergency landing after a whole-ass chunk of the plane literally fell off in the middle of the air. Thankfully, nobody was injured.
It seems like everyone has a horror story about an airport trip gone wrong nowadays, whether you had a flight get cancelled last minute, or maybe you’re like David Warner and had some of your important possessions get lost in transit. Even worse, maybe you’re like Schapelle Corby, who definitely has a story.
However anyone on board of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland to California now has an anecdote that will top most folk’s travel shit-shows — as they experienced a whole chunk of the plane being completely blown off.
Early into the flight a freak accident occurred where a section of the plane’s fuselage and window fell off, leaving an aisle-wide hole next to a row of seats on the plane’s left.
The plane had an altitude of 4876m at the time, and descended immediately after the pilot discovered what occurred.
Fortunately all of the passengers have been reported as safe and uninjured by the incident.
Additionally, some were able to capture footage of the damaged plane and share it online.
JUST IN: Window blows out mid air on Alaska Airlines flight..
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 6, 2024
Plane successfully makes emergency landing.. pic.twitter.com/awrzJQf6vy
As the video above states, the section that fell off was not an emergency exit, but “just a random piece of the plane”.
Nobody was seated next to the window in question, and nobody was harmed. But some people did make TikToks.
@vee_wins bffr @Alaska Airlines #alaskaair #planemalfunction ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger
The Boeing 737 Max 9 plane has been reported as being only 3 months old, and therefore the spontaneous destruction of a fuselage panel is highly surprising to the airline.
“Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” Alaska Airlines shared in a statement on the accident.
“The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 174 guests and six crew members.”
A couple hours ago, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 returned to PDX for an emergency decompression. This plane is only 3 months old. pic.twitter.com/7NMr5Vs3ZU
— Chuck Mahon (@ChuckMahon) January 6, 2024
The cause for the incident is now being investigated by Alaska Airlines and Boeing, with the latter also making a statement.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” wrote Boeing.
“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.”
This feels a lot like that meme about being cold on a plane and opening a window, except scary because we are the “everyone else”.
So next time you’re on a plane and annoyed about the food being expensive or the person beside you taking up your arm rest, remember it could always be a lot worse.
