Alaska Airlines Passenger Shares How Mid-Air Blow Out Ripped Shirt Off 15-Year-Old Boy: ‘Chaos’ 

An Alaska Airlines passenger revealed how the suction jet created in mid-air on Friday ripped the teenager’s shirt off.

Kelly Bartlett was one of 177 people flying from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California in 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft when part of the plane’s fuselage blew away. The plane later made a safe emergency landing in Portland, according to a statement from the airline.

Writing on Instagram, Bartlett revealed that a teenage female passenger was sitting in the middle seat closest to where the explosion occurred when the incident happened.

“Friday night I was on a plane from Portland that had a wall panel explode fifteen minutes into our flight. We had just passed 3,000 feet when there was a loud bang and the plane filled with wind and noise and the oxygen masks came off,” he wrote. Bartlett. “There was a hole in the side of the plane three rows behind me.”

Kelly Bartlett and Jack on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Kelly Bartlett’s Instagram

‘I thought we were going to nose dive at any moment’: Alaska Airlines passenger on ‘scary’ mid-air deflation

“There was chaos for several minutes as everyone grabbed their masks and people in the missing wall row found new seats on the other side of the plane,” she continued. “There was an open seat next to me, and a 15-year-old kid jumped over me, sat down and grabbed the mask. He didn’t have a shirt on because it was sucked out when the panel broke. He was sitting in the middle seat of the row of fate. His mom was on aisle seat, and luckily, no one was in the window seat.”

Bartlett then described the aftermath of the incident and how the boy – referred to only as “Jack” – became worried about his mum.

Jack was sitting in the middle seat on Alaska Airlines.

Kelly Bartlett’s Instagram

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“It was too loud on the plane for him to talk or hear anything, so I used the notes app on my phone to see if he was okay. Between that and the hand motions, he told me he was okay, and I knew he meant physically. He could seeing redness on his skin, which I assumed was windburn,” Bartlett wrote. “After just the first few minutes of chaos, the plane was under control and we knew we were descending back to PDX (Portland International Airport). We felt like we were going to crash. It was windy and loud on the plane, but everyone were calm and we landed safely within 15 minutes.”

Damage on an Alaska Airlines flight.

GDA via AP Images

Missing part from Alaska Airlines plane that exploded in mid-air found in teacher’s backyard in Oregon

“Jack kept asking about his mom and I just tried to reassure him that she was in the other seat, probably further forward,” she continued. “They regrouped when we landed.”

“The paramedics got on the plane to ask who was hurt and attended to a few people with minor injuries. Then we all got off the plane as normal, no need for an emergency slide… we just got off the dock as normal.” But not before Jack wanted a selfie ‘to remember the experience’! 😆 ”

On Sunday, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy announced that the missing plane part had been found in the backyard of a Portland-area home.

On an Alaska Airlines flight.

Kelly Bartlett’s Instagram

“I’m excited to announce that we’ve found a stopper in the door,” Homendy said in a brief address to the media. “Let’s go pick it up and make sure we start analyzing it.”

Homendy added that two cell phones from the plane were also recovered after being vacuumed from the flight – including an iPhone that was found intact and working.

Following up on her post, Bartlett added in her comments that the experience “was crazy and scary, and I’m so thankful it wasn’t a worse situation. Everyone was safe and relatively unharmed.”

She also confirmed that she was rebooked on a Delta flight to California later that night — though she wasn’t sure if that was the real deal.

On an Alaska Airlines flight.

Kelly Bartlett’s Instagram

“Getting back on the plane was probably the best thing for me so I didn’t end up with a lifelong fear of flying,” she added.

“Thanks to everyone who reached out this weekend! I couldn’t reply to everyone as quickly as I wanted, but I saw every message and your care and concern meant a lot to me! ❤️❤️❤️”PSA: Always wear your seat belt, even when they say that you can download it! Jack’s seat belt saved his life.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education