The stricken plane, belonging to the airline company Alaska airlines, had just left Portland to fly to Canadian Ontario when the terrifying scene unfolded. At an altitude of five thousand meters, one of the panels that made up the aircraft wall was torn loose and passengers were suddenly face to face with the ground below.
Witnesses say that travelers had to hold on to avoid being swept out through the hole, but despite the drama, none of the 177 people on board were injured.
Crucial “plug” found
What caused the accident is still unclear. The part of the wall that was torn away was part of the basic construction of an emergency exit, which on the current plane was replaced by a wall panel, which led American investigators to focus on the rebuilt wall’s construction.
However, the work has been made more difficult by the fact that a central part, called a “door stopper” by the authorities, has been missing since the accident. To find it, the NTSB has asked the public for help, and now the search has yielded results.
At a news conference Sunday, NTSB Director Jennifer Homendy announced that an elementary school teacher named Bob found the plane part on his Portland property.
“Thanks Bob, I’ll get back to you so I can thank you in person,” Homendy said.
Aircraft model stopped
Bob’s effort saves the authorities a lot of work. The plan was to search with helicopters and drones if the search did not yield results, writes CNN.
According to the NTSB, the plug could be a key in the search for answers to what caused the accident. However, before any information can be given, the aircraft part must undergo thorough investigations.
Since the accident, aircraft of the same model, a variant of the Boeing 737 Max 9, have been grounded by aviation authorities in both the US and Europe.