PORTLAND (Oregon), Jan. 7, 2024
From our Overseas Bureau
Federal Aviation Administration has ordered U.S. airlines to stop using some Boeing 737 Max 9 planes until they are inspected, less than a day after one of those planes lost a chunk of its body in mid-air with an extremely loud pop, terrifying passengers before the jet safely ground landed.
Crew members and passengers on-board Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 described an unnerving experience during 20 minutes of the flight, which was heading to Ontario, Calif., but returned to Portland International Airport in Oregon.
Passengers said Yellow oxygen masks dangled above their heads, a powerful wind tore through a gaping hole that showed the night sky and the city lights below. Luckily, no one aboard the plane was seriously injured.
A passenger, Vi Nguyen of Portland, said that she woke up to a loud sound during the flight. Then she saw a large hole in the side of the aircraft.
I open up my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me, Nguyen, aged 22, said. And I look to the left and the wall on the side of the plane is gone, she added.
The first thing I thought was, I’m going to die, she lamented.
The F.A.A.’s order will affect about 171 planes.
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