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Watch: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 fuselage ‘explodes’
170 passengers survived the incident on the Boeing 737 Max 9 — the latest scare to befall the model, which is now grounded in the US
More than 170 passengers were “minutes from tragedy” after a large hole was blown in a Boeing 737 Max 9 in mid-air. The incident has prompted the US airline regulator, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), to order the temporary grounding of the 171 similar planes operated by US airlines or in US territory.
About six minutes after take-off, the Alaska Airlines flight was at 16,325ft and still gaining altitude when there was a loud bang and a window and the surrounding panel peeled away from the side of the plane.
A boy’s shirt was torn off and some passengers had their phones sucked out of the plane, which was travelling at 444mph. Luckily the seat, 26A, directly next to the large hole, was vacant.
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