An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon after a door with a window blew out mid-flight. The Alaska Airlines flight with over 170 passengers on board was on its way from Portland to Ontario, California Friday night, and was 16,000 feet up when a passenger window blew out next to the seats. The plane returned to Portland for an emergency landing. Firefighters met the aircraft and treated four passengers who had minor injuries.
The airline later announced it was grounding its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after the incident.
The company released a statement saying it would be grounding 65 aircraft until each plane can be inspected. That is about a fifth of its airline fleet.
"At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. 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. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days," said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. "I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way."
"We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The NTSB is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation," said Minicucci.
"My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead," said Minicucci.