Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing when part of the fuselage fell off midair said the ordeal was loud and terrifying.
Elizabeth Le of Portland, Oregon, said the flight was about 20 minutes into its route from Portland to Ontario, California, on Friday when she heard a loud noise.
“All of a sudden I heard like a big bang and I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I look up and the oxygen masks were hanging from the ceiling,” Le told Southern California news outlet OC Hawk. “And then I look to my left and there’s this huge chunk, part of the airplane is like missing.”
Flight 1282, which was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, landed safely back at Portland International Airport.
The FAA ordered some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft temporarily grounded for inspections, affecting about 171 planes worldwide.
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