Flight attendants who worked on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 recently revealed disturbing new details about the Jan 5. mid-air panel blowout incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a hearing about the incident on Tuesday as part of a lengthy investigation into Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets. In January, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, was forced to make an emergency landing after part of the plane blew out mid-air.
The aircraft was carrying 171 guests and six crew members. It was able to land safely back at Portland International Airport around 14 minutes after the decompression incident.
During the Tuesday hearing, officials reported that they had conducted interviews with flight attendants about the incident. One flight attendant said that they were worried that passengers had been sucked out of the plane after seeing the gaping hole in the plane and five empty seats.
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"I said there is a hole in the plane, in the back of the plane, and I’m sure we’ve lost passengers," the attendant, who has 20 years of experience, testified. The employee also noted that they were worried about an unaccompanied child sitting near a window.
"All I could think of was that he was sitting there, and he was too small to reach the mask and was probably really scared."
Another attendant had the same fear about losing passengers and attempted to call for help.
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"I think I was able to (blurt) out, 'I think we have a hole, and we might've lost passengers.' And then it seemed like I just lost contact. I tried calling back, tried speaking loudly into the phone. I couldn't hear anything," the second flight attendant said.
"Probably the scariest thing was I didn't have exact communication with my flight deck, and at first I didn't know if the decompression was in the front, if we have pilots, and not being able to fully communicate with the back," the employee added.
Both employees also detailed the injuries passengers suffered and damage to the plane. One teenage passenger had a red face and neck, and one chair completely lost its upholstery and head rest tray table.
At the time of the incident, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said that the airline was working with regulators and Boeing to investigate the cause of the mishap.
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"My heart goes out to those who were on this flight — I am so sorry for what you experienced," Minicucci said. "I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead."
Reuters contributed to this report.
