Washington, DC [US]: An Alaska Airlines flight that took off from Oregon's Portland on Friday returned to the airport for an emergency landing after experiencing an "incident" after departure, The Washington Post reported.
The cause of the diversion was not clear. However, local media has reported an extreme depressurization of the aircraft, citing passengers, and posted photos that seemed to show a large window section of the plane missing.
According to flight data published by the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the flight had reached 16,300 feet before descending and arrived about 20 minutes after taking off. Allison Ferre, a spokeswoman for the Port of Portland, which oversees Portland International Airport, said it made a safe emergency landing.
According to Alaska Airlines, flight 1282, which uses a Boeing 737-9 Max, an updated version of the Boeing model, was heading to Southern California, according to The Washington Post report.
In a statement on X, Boeing Airplanes stated, "We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight #AS1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation."
Alaska Airlines said the aircraft has landed safely at Portland International Airport.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said, "Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members."
"The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority, so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation. We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available," it added.
According to The Washington Post report, National Transportation Safety Board in a statement on social media said it "is investigating an event involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282," without elaborating on the details regarding what the event was.
—ANI