CNN
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Federal investigators are searching for the missing piece of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane that exploded while investigating what led to a horrific mid-air ordeal that led to the nationwide grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 planes and a slew of flight cancellations.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Saturday that there were no passengers sitting directly next to the part of the plane that exploded.
During a press conference, Homendy requested the public's help in locating the “delivery door” and other components of the plane that fell during the flight.
“We believe, by looking at the radar data, that the door is located around Barnes Road near I-217 in the Cedar Hills neighborhood. If you find it please contact local law enforcement,” Homendy said.
Cedar Hills is located just over 7 miles from Portland.
The hole the size of a refrigerator suddenly opened on board the plane carrying 177 People were sent from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, on Friday Panic all over the plane As cabin pressure dropped, oxygen masks descended and passengers shouted and texted goodbye. Authorities said the plane landed safely and no serious injuries were reported.
“We're very fortunate here that this didn't end into something more tragic,” Homendy said.
The ordeal led to the FAA deciding to temporarily ground some Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes until they were carefully examined. Boeing has faced a series of setbacks in recent years, most notably its cessation of operations in dozens of countries in 2019 after two tragic accidents.
Alaska Airlines said Saturday night that emergency inspections of its fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes “will take more time,” warning of the possibility of continued flight disruptions.
The airline said it had canceled 160 flights — affecting nearly 23,000 passengers — as of Saturday afternoon, and there could be more cancellations for Sunday.
“We have identified the necessary cancellations for tomorrow and expect the disruption to continue until at least mid-week,” the airline said in the statement.
United Airlines also said it would suspend services on all of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and is “working with the FAA to clarify the inspection process and requirements for returning all MAX 9 aircraft to service.” United said it has 79 planes in its fleet.
Meanwhile, investigators began looking into the Alaska plane's maintenance records, among other components, while investigating the accident.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 reached an altitude of 16,000 feet after taking off from Portland when chaos erupted. The plane reportedly only flew for 20 minutes FlightAware.
With a bang, the fuselage plug — which resembles the interior of a typical commercial jet — exploded from the plane, sucking items out of the plane, according to videos and passenger accounts.
Some aircraft have a intended opening that can be covered with an emergency plug or door, depending on the seating configuration required by the airline.
Miraculously, no one was sitting in 26A and 26B, the two plane seats next to the plug door that exploded, Homendy said Saturday night. Alaska Airlines confirmed that no passengers were allocated those seats.
The back of the seat in 26A is completely gone, as are the headrests in seats 25A and 26A, Homendy said. Clothes were also scattered Region.
What prevented a more disastrous outcome, Homendy said, was that it happened before the plane reached cruising altitude, when passengers typically begin to unbuckle and walk around.
However, the incident sparked panic on board.
Passenger Nick Hoch, 33, described hearing a “thud” before the plane “shaken.” “Our oxygen masks fell from the top and we put them on immediately, but it was a disorienting experience,” Hoch told CNN on Saturday.
Hoch said he was sitting on the left side of the plane, a few rows away from where the panel exploded, and “a fog or cloud passed me and hit me in the face.”
“There were people much closer than I talked to who had their AirPods missing from their ears,” he said.
Alaska Airlines said in a statement Saturday night that several guests on board required medical attention due to injuries, and all of them have “now been medically cleared.”
“I imagine this was a very terrifying event,” Homendy said. “We don't often talk about psychological injury, but I'm sure it happened here.”
Alaska Airlines said it is working with Boeing to understand what happened on Flight 1282.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 plane involved in Friday's accident has been in service for about three months and has flown about 150 times since October 2023, according to flight tracking website FlightAware and Federal Aviation Administration records.
Alaska Airlines said it inspected 18 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes in its fleet on Saturday and returned them to service, but hours later, it reversed course and said those planes would be removed “until details about potential additional maintenance work are confirmed with the FAA.” ”
Stephanie King told CNN that she was sitting in an aisle seat in row 12 on the plane headed to her home in California when she heard a loud roar of wind.
“I just knew something bad had happened,” she told CNN by phone on Saturday.
King said flight attendants made announcements, but because the plane was open, it was too loud for her to hear much of what was being said.
King told CNN that many passengers who were near the hole in the plane panicked and moved to empty seats away from the accident.
“One lady was screaming and crying. She was inconsolable. She kept saying, 'Oh my son! My son! His shirt was ripped!'” King said. “It was absolutely surreal.”
Fearing for her safety, King took out her phone to record video and draft final text messages to her loved ones.
“I drafted some texts to my boyfriend and my mom telling them something was going on, that I was scared and that I loved them,” she said.
King said that although it seemed like “forever,” the plane landed safely less than 10 minutes after the accident.
“It was really quiet then. Everyone was in shock…it was weird,” she said.
After the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing's 737 Max 9 aircraft in light of the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing said the company supported the FAA's decision.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” Boeing said in a statement. “We agree with and fully support the FAA's decision to request immediate inspections of 737-9 aircraft in the same configuration as the affected aircraft.”
The recent decision to stop comes after a series of setbacks suffered by Boeing.
Last month, Boeing asked airlines to inspect all of its 737 MAX planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder system after one airline discovered a potential problem with a key part on two planes.
The engineering and quality problems faced by Boeing have presented major challenges to the company. The crashes of two 737-8 MAX planes, killing all 346 people on board the flights, grounded the plane for 20 months.
The MAX was back in the air carrying passengers in most markets around the world starting in late December 2020. But it ran into other problems, including in April when Boeing said it discovered a manufacturing problem with some 737 MAX planes after a supplier used an “inappropriate manufacturing process.” Standard” while installing two pieces of fittings at the rear of the fuselage – despite Boeing insisting the problem did not pose a safety risk.
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