Alaska Airlines Aircraft Door Blows Out After Take Off, Emergency Landing In Minutes; All Passengers & Crew Safe

It was a close shave for the California-bound Alaska Airlines flight that took off from Portland, only to make an emergency landing on Friday. One of the doors of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX blew open mid-air, minutes after take-off. Shocking videos taken by horrified passengers show how the mid-cabin exit door had completely separated from the aircraft and passengers seated next to the gap, while the land surface was still visible. There were 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board, the airlines confirmed all were safe. The flight left Portland at 5.06 p.m. (local time) and made the emergency landing in less than 30 mins, by 5:26 p.m.

"AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA (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. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available," Alaska Airlines said in a post on ‘X’.

An investigation has been launched by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). According to Flightradar24, the aircraft had traveled a maximum altitude of 16,325 feet, before its descent and finally being diverted back to safety. This aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX was delivered to Alaska Airlines on October 1, 2023, and entered commercial service on November 11, 2023; it had accumulated just 145 flights since then, said Flightradar24.


On the 737-9 MAX, Boeing includes a rear cabin exit door aft of the wings, but before the rear exit door. This is activated in dense seating configurations to meet evacuation requirements. The doors are not activated on Alaska Airlines aircraft and are permanently “plugged.” The door position in question is highlighted below inside the red circle, as reported by Flightradar24.