Emily Wiprud was uncertain about the specifics, but the Alaska Airlines pilot sensed that something was amiss as flight 1282 departed from Portland on January 5.
“The first indication was an explosion in my ears and then a whoosh of air,” Wiprud, an Alaska Airlines pilot, told CBS News of the flight, which lost an exterior panel at 16,000 feet and had to make an an emergency landing. “My body was forced forward and there was a loud bang as well…The flight deck door was open. I saw tubes hanging from the cabin.”
Amid the turmoil, the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet experienced a significant incident where a large panel known as a door plug detached, causing her headset to be ejected from the aircraft, along with several passengers’ mobile phones. She glanced around and noticed the vacant seats and injuries, worrying that some of the passengers might have been ejected from the aircraft as well.
Wiprud remembered glancing down the aisle of the aircraft, where she saw rows of passengers gazing back at her, some visibly hurt.
“I was completely unaware of the hole in the airplane until we touched down,” she remarked. “I sensed that something was deeply amiss.”
A probe conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board subsequently uncovered that the aircraft lacked bolts intended to secure its door plug, a panel that conceals openings in the fuselage designated for emergency exits, transforming them into standard windows for passengers.
In a remarkable turn of events, the aircraft successfully executed an emergency landing in Portland, ensuring the safety of all 177 individuals on board.
The incident in Alaska led to the Federal Aviation Administration taking the precautionary step of temporarily grounding all Boeing 737 Max 9s featuring the same door plug. This marked the start of a troubling sequence of scandals and challenges for the renowned aerospace manufacturer, which soon found itself under scrutiny from the FAA, DOJ, and FBI.
The subsequent examination uncovered several dubious practices, including a now-abandoned technique referred to as “traveled work,” which allowed components with identified defects to reach the production line and be repaired during assembly.
