An Alaska Airlines flight makes an emergency landing after a window apparently burst in midair
(CNN) — An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing Friday night after a window collapsed mid-flight, a passenger told CNN.
Alaska Airlines confirmed that an incident occurred on flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California. “The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 174 passengers and six crew members on board,” the airline said. “We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available.”
According to FlightAware, the flight was in the air for only 20 minutes. The flight departed Portland International Airport at approximately 05:07 local time and landed at 05:27 pm.
Kyle Rinker was one of the passengers on the flight and confirmed to CNN that the window collapsed shortly after takeoff.
“It was very sudden, I had just reached altitude and the window/wall had just blown out and I didn’t realize it until the oxygen mask came off,” Rinker said.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane is a 737 Max 9 and received its “airworthiness” certificate on October 25, 2023.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a post on X that it is investigating the incident.
Portland International Airport also confirmed to CNN that there was an emergency landing.
CNN has reached out to the FAA and Boeing for comment.