Alaska Airlines plane fuselage explodes in mid-air

The Independent newspaper reported today, January 6, that Alaska Airlines (USA) is grounding all of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, after a window and part of the fuselage on one of its planes exploded in mid-air shortly after takeoff.

Specifically, Alaska Airlines said a Boeing 737 Max 9 had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Portland (Oregon, USA) on January 5, US time. Fortunately, all 174 passengers and 6 crew members were safe.

The window on the plane exploded.

"Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening shortly after departure," according to a statement from Alaska Airlines.

The airline has now taken "a precautionary step to temporarily ground its fleet of 65 Boeing Max 9 aircraft".

The Guardian newspaper cited flight tracking data from the FlightAware website as saying that the plane changed course after reaching an altitude of 4,875 meters, about 6 minutes after taking off at 5:07 p.m. on January 5.

A person who was on the flight sent a photo to KATU-TV showing a gaping hole in the side of the plane next to the passenger seats. KPTV-TV also released photos sent by another passenger showing a large portion of the fuselage missing.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the plane landed safely after the crew reported a pressurization problem. The agency is investigating the incident.

US-based Boeing, which manufactures the Boeing 737 Max 9, said it was gathering more information and was ready to assist in the investigation.

The Max is the latest version of the 737 family manufactured by Boeing. It is a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft, and is commonly used on domestic flights in the United States. It entered service in May 2017.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/than-may-bay-hang-alaska-airlines-no-tung-giua-khong-trung-185240106170817026.htm