On Friday Night, an Alaska Airlines flight operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, made a dramatic emergency landing after a mid-cabin door plug blew out mid-air at 16,000 feet.
The plug was in place because some manufacturers configure their planes in a way that requires more emergency exits onboard. However, Alaska’s seating configuration did not require that extra exit, causing the door frame to be blocked. The missing door plug of the flight was found in a Portland teacher’s backyard.
Had the incident happened at a higher altitude, experts say that the decompression of the flight would have likely been more violent and could have led to more significant structural damage to the aircraft.
Fortunately, nobody was sitting in the two seats right next to the plug door that blew off, and all the passengers and crew onboard the aircraft deplaned safely in Portland. According to the airline, a few passengers had injuries that required medical attention after landing, but they have all since been cleared.
While further investigation and inspection remain pending, Alaska Airlines canceled roughly 109 flights yesterday due to the incident.
