More than 170 Boeing aircraft worldwide have been temporarily grounded after a fuselage portion of a brand-new airliner exploded in midair.
US regulators say immediate inspections are needed after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a cabin emergency shortly after take-off on Friday.
The photos showed a large hole in the side of the Boeing 737-9 MAX, and although the plane landed safely with more than 170 passengers and six crew members on board in Oregon, the phones and the boy's shirt were taken from the plane.
A large hole can be seen in the side of the plane. Photo: Kyle Rinker
Investigators are now searching for the fuselage that exploded, and they believe it was in a small suburb of Portland called Cedar Hills. Anyone who finds him is asked to contact police.
“We're very fortunate” that the crash wasn't much worse, Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters.
She revealed that no one was sitting in the seats directly adjacent to the fuselage, and because the plane did not reach cruising altitude, the passengers and crew were not moving around the cabin.
“There is a lot of work to be done,” she warned, stressing: “We have the safest aviation system in the world. It is incredibly safe. We are the global gold standard for safety around the world, but we have to maintain this standard.” “.
Ms Homendy said no serious injuries had been reported, but added it would have been a “very terrifying event” that would have affected the passengers psychologically.
Photograph: Elizabeth Low/AFP
Alaska and United Airlines, which have 737-9 MAX planes in their fleets, have made dozens of cancellations and say it could take days for the grounded planes to return to service. Five Turkish Airlines aircraft are also being examined as a precaution.
It takes up to eight hours to inspect each plane, and the Federal Aviation Administration has warned that more action could be taken.
While there are no 737 MAX-9 aircraft registered in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority has required all foreign airlines to carry out inspections before flying into British airspace.
The Alaska Airlines plane involved in Friday's accident entered service just eight weeks ago — and the fuselage that exploded covered a space intended for an additional evacuation door.
While Boeing welcomed the pause, it represents another blow to the company Still trying to recover Of two prominent incidents that left its reputation in tatters.
Read more:
What does a “very dangerous” explosion mean for flights?
Exterior photographs indicate that the rear exit door in the middle of the cabin is separated from the aircraft during flight. Photo: KGW
The incident leaves experts stunned
Anthony Brickhouse, a professor of aviation safety, said he was surprised to learn that a piece of the fuselage would fly off a new plane.
Although panels have fallen off planes before, he can't recall an incident that made passengers “look at the city lights.”
He added: “I cannot imagine what those passengers experienced. The wind was blowing through that cabin.
“It was probably a very violent situation, and it was definitely a scary situation.”
Mr Brickhouse said it was a strong reminder that passengers must wear seatbelts throughout the journey.
“If there had been people nearby not wearing seatbelts, they would have disappeared,” David Learmont, consulting editor at Flightglobal, told Sky News.
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The trip was a “trip from hell”
“I'm so sorry for what you went through”
Passengers on board Flight 1282 – which was traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California – were describing their ordeal.
“I heard a big loud bang in the left rear,” Evan Smith told local media. “A buzzing sound was made and all the oxygen masks were immediately deployed and everyone put them on.”
Another passenger named Elizabeth told KGW that the accident happened about 20 minutes after takeoff, in the sky three miles above Oregon.
“I looked to my left, and there is a huge gap, on the left side where the window is,” she said, describing the sound of the wind as incredibly loud.
Elizabeth said the passengers and crew were calm and everyone was wearing their seat belts, and the recording showed that the pilot remained calm the entire time.
She was heard asking air traffic controllers for permission to descend to 10,000 feet after the cabin depressurized, an altitude at which healthy people can breathe without supplemental oxygen.
The pilot then declared an emergency and said the plane needed to return to Portland.
“My heart goes out to those on this flight,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said. “I am very sorry for what you went through.”
