A cabin panel flew off in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole in the plane’s fuselage and forcing an emergency landing.
The incident took place on Saturday. Social media images showed emergency oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling as passengers huddled in their seats in trepidation.
Here’s what you need to know about the incident, and the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliner:
What happened to the flight?
Alaska Air Flight 1282 suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
En route to Ontario, California, the plane made an emergency landing in Portland, in the US state of Oregon.
Flight data showed the plane climbed to 16,000 feet (4,876 metres) before the incident took place, with the hole causing the cabin to depressurise.
What happened to the blown-off piece?
The door fell off over the Portland suburb of Cedar Hills, according to the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy.
Homendy called on residents to come forward if they found it.
Were any passengers affected?
The plane landed safely with all 174 passengers and six crew members.
No passengers were seated next to the cabin panel, said Homendy. However, The Oregonian newspaper quoted passengers as saying a young boy seated in the row had his shirt ripped off by the sudden decompression, injuring him slightly.
Several other passengers also suffered injuries.
What was the cause of the incident?
Alaska Airlines has not provided information about the possible cause, but the NTSB and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have said they will investigate the incident.
How old was the plane?
The new Boeing 737 MAX 9 involved in the incident was delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and certified in early November, according to FAA data. It had been in service for just eight weeks.
The MAX is Boeing’s newest version of the 737 and went into service in May 2017.