Missing Part from Alaska Airlines Plane That Experienced Mid-Air Blow Out Found in Oregon Teacher’s Backyard

The missing part of the Alaska Airlines plane that exploded in the air on Friday has been found in Oregon.

A media briefing by National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy on Sunday revealed that the missing part of the plane was located in a teacher’s backyard in the Portland area.

“I’m excited to announce that we found the door stopper,” Homendy said during the briefing. She added that the teacher, named Bob, had sent two photos of the missing part.

“We’re really glad Bob found this. I can only see the outside of the door stopper from the pictures, the white parts, we can’t see anything else,” she added. “Let’s go pick it up and make sure we start analyzing it.”

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty

Two mobile phones that were sucked from the plane were also found in another yard, i.e. by the road, she said. One of the residents who found the iPhone shared photos of the untouched device on social media, showing that it was still working and was even open to emails with baggage claim information for the flight.

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The 65-seat Boeing 737-9 took off from Portland, Oregon at 4:40 p.m. local time on Friday when the plane’s door stopper broke while the plane was approximately 16,000 feet in the air.

In a press release from Alaska Airlines, the airline said all 171 passengers and 6 crew members on Flight 1282 returned safely to Portland International Airport after the emergency landing. The flight was headed for Ontario, California when it “experienced an incident shortly after takeoff,” according to the statement.

In videos and photos obtained by the Portland news outlet KPTV, a large part of the plane’s fuselage could be seen missing. Passengers were seen wearing oxygen masks and the night sky even peeked through the hatch in some clips.

NTSB via Getty

According to the airline, multiple passengers “suffered injuries that required medical attention” following the incident, but all have since been medically cleared.

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NTSB via Getty

In a statement issued by Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci hours after the plane’s emergency landing, it was revealed that all Boeing 737-9 aircraft would be temporarily grounded for inspections.

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“After tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Minicucci said. “Each aircraft will be returned to service only after full maintenance and safety inspections have been completed. We expect all inspections to be completed in the next few days.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education