Wanted: One airplane door.
If found, please contact the National Transportation Safety Board immediately.
That’s the message the feds issued Sunday as they asked for the public’s help in finding a “plug door” that toppled an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight Friday night, leaving a huge hole in the plane’s fuselage that threatened nearly 200 passengers.
“We believe, from looking at the radar data, that the gate is in the vicinity of Barnes Road near I-217 in the Cedar Hills neighborhood,” said NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, referring to the region about seven miles west of Portland, Oregon.
“If you find that, please contact local law enforcement,” he added, according to CNN.
The emergency door went off shortly after the California-bound plane took off from Portland International Airport, creating a nightmare scenario for the 171 passengers and six crew on board.
Terrified travelers watched in silence as the lights of the city flickered far below through the gaping hole where the door had once been.
The ordeal — which occurred as the plane was humming along at about 16,000 feet — quickly decompressed the cabin and forced the pilot to turn around and return to Portland for an emergency landing, according to NBC News.
A plug door came off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane on Friday night, pressurizing the cabin and scaring the 177 people on board. ZUMAPRESS.com Plug doors are often used as emergency exits when needed. through KPTV
The 737 had just left the city 10 minutes earlier and was heading south to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County.
But luckily, no one was sitting next to the exploding door, Homendy said.
The plane landed safely at Portland International Airport and first responders treated passengers for minor injuries at the scene.
“It was fortunate that no one died and there were no more serious injuries,” he told CNN after he visited the plane as part of the board’s investigation into the fatal crash.
NTSB investigators will also interview the flight crew, he said.
Thankfully, no one was sitting next to the unplugged door. Instagram/@strawberrvy via REUTE
Homendy said finding the missing door will help them figure out why it failed.
“If it’s sitting in somebody’s yard, I want to see it,” he said.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that no one called to tell them the door was in their yard.
In addition to terrifying passengers, the blinding mid-air disaster led the FAA to ground certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes — totaling about 171 planes worldwide — and several cancellations.
Boeing said it was developing a long-term solution to fix the 737 Max issue. AFP via Getty Images
Alaska Airlines itself canceled 160 flights – affecting about 23,000 travelers – as of Saturday, CNN reported.
More cancellations are also possible, as airline officials inspect their fleet of Boeing aircraft.
“We are currently identifying the necessary cancellations for tomorrow and expect the disruption to continue until at least midweek,” the airline said in a statement to the network.
United Airlines has also grounded its fleet of 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes as it works with the Federal Aviation Administration to inspect them, CNN said.
When the door ripped open with a loud bang, the sudden pressure tore the headrests and cushions from the seats and caused oxygen masks to fall from the ceiling, according to the outlet.
The ordeal horrified passengers, who saw their seats ripped apart by the rapid decompression. Instagram/@strawberrvy via REUTE
Homendy told the network that he knew the plane had pressurization problems before the flight.
Investigators will pick the brains of the airline’s mechanics to see what they did to fix it, he added.
Boeing said it supported the FAA’s order to land the plane.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” Boeing said in a statement to the network.
Alaska Airlines did not respond to the network’s request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
