Passengers on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 that lost part of its side during a flight from Oregon to California on Friday have spoken about what exactly happened at the moment of the incident and in the nail-biting minutes afterward. The plane with 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board had just taken off and was already at an altitude of 4,877 meters when a popping sound suddenly sounded. And then a loud bang.
Flight 1282 had taken off with a slight delay. The temperature in Portland, Oregon was just above freezing and the plane had to be cleared of ice first. It was almost full, except for a few seats.
About 10 to 15 minutes after takeoff – the pilot had just said that the plane was at an altitude of 3,000 meters – part of the side of the aircraft at row 26 was suddenly blown away. Miraculously, the window and center seats were empty, but Sreysoar Un and her 12-year-old son Josiah McCaul were in the row just behind them. The woman told The Wall Street Journal that she heard what sounded like an explosion.
Die
“We thought we were going to die,” she said. Her son dropped his smartphone and moments later saw it disappear through the gaping hole in the plane wall. Followed a little later by a large, brown teddy bear that he had received from his grandmother in Cambodia.
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According to aviation authorities, two headrests and the back of a seat were also sucked out. Passengers reported losing phones and earbuds. At least two of those smartphones have now been recovered, according to reports on social media. One iPhone even still worked.
Seanathan Bates @SeanSafyre
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The pressure in the cabin of the plane immediately lost, the plane rattled and the oxygen masks came down. The air became thin and some passengers had trouble breathing until they had their masks on. The light that had dimmed during takeoff flickered back on. Passenger Evan Smith told The New York Times that he also saw “white smoke” swirling through the plane.
Some passengers screamed. Others tried to get up to see what was happening, but the cabin crew urged everyone to sit down and keep their seatbelts and oxygen masks on. “There’s a f*cking hole in the side of the plane!” someone shouted.
Ice cold draft
Mother and son held hands. Josiah said afterwards that he had been looking out through the hole the entire time and had felt an icy draft. Because they had their oxygen masks on, they couldn’t talk. Un then began to pray for a safe landing. Cabin crew removed them from the hole as quickly as possible. Witnesses say the boy’s T-shirt was torn away and his skin was completely red.
LOOK. Plane makes emergency landing after window suddenly breaks
Other passengers also held hands. “We tried to comfort each other as much as we could,” said Christopher Hickman, who sat in row 8. He had originally been seated in row 29, but he had upgraded the night before so that his mother who was with him wouldn’t have to walk so far. He sent a message to his partner to report that there was an emergency on the plane.
Emma Vu in row 18 also sent a message to loved ones. “I’m so scared,” she wrote to her parents, according to a video she shared on TikTok. “Pray for me, please. I do not wanna die.”
Eerily quiet
Within minutes of the incident, passengers noticed the plane turning around. Although the crew gave no information, everyone assumed they were returning to Portland International Airport. With a few exceptions, the passengers remained “eerily quiet” throughout the flight back, according to Hickman.
© AP
Within half an hour after it took off, the plane was back on the ground safe and sound. When it landed, applause rang out in the cabin. Emergency services immediately came on board to check everyone was OK. They started with the people closest to the hole. Some said their fingers were numb and Un complained that her left ear was ringing.
Alaska Airlines scheduled a new flight to California the same evening. The company promised to give all passengers their money back and an additional 1,500 dollars (1,370 euros) for any costs. Hickman, among others, went on board, despite the “traumatic experience” just before. Un and her son looked at other options, because Josiah is terrified of getting on a plane again.
Cause
An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. The US aviation watchdog FAA has ordered the immediate inspection of 171 of the aircraft, which will no longer be allowed to fly until then. The door panel in question has now been found in a teacher’s yard near Portland, according to aviation authorities.
There have been several technical problems with the 737 MAX in recent years. Two planes crashed. The two accidents, which killed 346 people in October 2018 and March 2019, led to the 737 MAX being grounded for 20 months.
© AP
© via REUTERS
Black box cleared
Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in a statement that the black box has been cleared. “The recorder in the cockpit has now been completely overwritten,” said Homendy. A black box keeps track of conversations in the cockpit for only two hours. According to her, the regulator should oblige airlines to keep the recordings longer, as in Europe.
She also said that the Alaska Airlines aircraft in question was no longer allowed to perform overseas flights (to Hawaii, ed.) in the past month because a warning light had burned several times, indicating a possible pressure problem. The alarm went off on December 7, January 3 and 4. The maintenance team tested the light each time and performed a reset. It is unclear whether there is a connection with what happened on Friday.
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2024-01-08 12:43:04
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