Alaska Aircraft Window Blows Out Mid-Air Days After Japan Airlines Plane Caught Fire

• Less than a week after a Japan Airlines aircraft caught fire on the runway, passengers in another airline escaped death by a whisker
• It all started when one of the windows on an Alaska Airlines plane blew out after takeoff, leading to depressurization
• Investigations have been launched to ascertain why the new Boeing 737-9 MAX, which went into service in November 2023, experienced such a malfunction

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was forced to make an emergency landing after experiencing depressurization just moments after takeoff.

The aircraft was en route from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, when the incident happened, prompting a swift response from the pilot and air traffic control.

Aircraft was only 2 months old

The Boeing 737-9 MAX, which had entered service only in November 2023, departed Portland at around 5 pm local time.

Approximately 40 minutes into the flight, at an altitude of 16,000 feet, a deactivated emergency door, repurposed as a regular cabin window, blew out.

The catastrophic failure led to a rapid depressurization of the cabin, creating chaos among the 171 passengers and six crew members on board.

Audio recordings captured the alarm as the pilot urgently radioed air traffic control for assistance.

"Portland approach, Alaska 1282 emergency! Aircraft is now levelling 12,000 in a left turn heading three four zero," the pilot said.

Passengers heard "loud boom"

The captain declared an emergency and requested to divert, keen to save the hundreds of lives on board.

Witnesses described a deafening noise, likened to a "really loud boom," followed by an eerie silence as the plane rapidly descended.

Miraculously, despite the severity of the incident, no injuries were reported among the passengers and crew.

Passengers recounted the surreal experience, with one traveller, Elizabeth, expressing disbelief, stating,

"It sounded like your ears were popping like normally on a plane, but 10 times louder. I couldn't believe it was real," she said.

Investigations launched into incident

During the emergency landing, the force of the depressurization reportedly ripped the shirt off a young boy whose mother was seen holding onto him.

Additionally, passengers observed their phones being sucked out into the night sky through the blown-out window.

Boeing, Alaska Airlines, and the National Transportation Safety Board have initiated investigations into the incident to determine the root cause of the emergency door failure.

Reports indicate that seat 26A, adjacent to the blown-out window, was fortunately unoccupied during the incident.

The investigation will shed light on the circumstances surrounding this alarming mid-air event on the recently deployed Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Japan Airlines plane caught fire

Alaska Airlines' incident came less than a week after a would-be routine landing for Japan Airlines flight JAL 516 took a horrible turn when the aircraft caught fire.

The flight had 379 passengers and 12 crew members on board when it ran into trouble shortly after landing at Haneda Airport.

Details indicate that the aircraft went ablaze after it collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft.