The Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane had to make an emergency landing in the United States on Friday, when a large piece came off the plane’s wall mid-flight. This is known from events.
– We were very, very lucky that the event did not lead to a tragedy.
This is stated by the chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Jennifer Homendy. There is a real reason for the sigh of relief.
According to Homedy, it was lucky that no one sat in the two seats next to which a piece came off during the flight.
The passengers of the plane that left Portland, Oregon on Friday evening local time experienced real moments of horror.
Was in a travel agency Kyle Rinker tells the news channel CNN that the problems started soon after the plane took off.
– Everything happened very quickly. We were in the air and the wall just popped off, he says.
Palanen came off seven minutes after takeoff. According to Reuters, the plane had time to rise to 4,800 meters.
A passenger who had time to fall asleep Vi Nguyen tells The New York Times that she woke up to a loud noise.
– I opened my eyes and saw that an oxygen mask was hanging right in front of me, Nguyen says.
He saw a gaping hole to his left.
– My first thought was that I’m going to die now.
The t-shirt of the teenage passenger was blown off by the air current.
The passengers quickly got oxygen masks on their faces and the plane turned back.
Several passengers were injured, but according to the authorities they were not serious, tells Oregon Public Radio OPB.
There were 177 passengers and six cabin crew members on board.
There was a place in the frame for an extra emergency exit
The reason for the detachment of the body part is not known.
A piece came off the part of the frame where there was a place for an extra emergency exit. Additional emergency exits are typically built in the planes of low-cost airlines, which have more seats and therefore require more evacuation routes.
For example, on an Alaska Airlines plane, these openings are permanently blocked, Reuters describes.
According to NTBS, the plane’s spare door fell off in the Cedar Hills neighborhood of Portland. A part is currently being searched for and residents have been asked to report if it happened to fall on them.
The Alaska Airlines plane had only been in service for a few weeks.
Due to the emergency landing, the US Aviation Safety Authority has ordered 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes to be temporarily grounded and subjected to additional inspections.
Sources: AFP, Reuters