United States – On January 5, Alaska Airlines flight attendants faced a terrifying ordeal when a mid-air panel explosion occurred on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 at 16,000 feet, shortly after departing from Portland, Oregon. Newly released testimony reveals the initial fear and confusion, as attendants believed passengers might have been sucked out of the aircraft, as reported by Reuters.
Testimonies Reveal the Incident
Thousands of pages of documents, including interviews with flight attendants, were made public ahead of a two-day investigation hearing by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). These documents highlight the quick-thinking actions of the cabin crew. One flight attendant with 20 years of experience reported, “I said there is a hole in the plane, in the back of the plane, and I’m sure we’ve lost passengers,” after noticing the hole and five empty seats.
The Search for Missing Passengers
Amidst the chaos, an attendant discovered an unattended child near the rear of the plane and expressed concern: “All I could think of was that he was sitting there, and he was too small to reach the mask and probably really scared.”
Communication Breakdown
Flight attendants reported hearing a loud noise and experiencing rushing airflow and tangled oxygen masks. A second flight attendant, with almost a decade of experience, described the challenge of communicating with the pilots: “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.”
Fear of the Unknown
The inability to communicate with the flight deck added to the fear and uncertainty. “Probably the scariest thing was I didn’t have exact communication with my flight deck,” the attendant said, noting the concern over whether the decompression had affected the pilots.
Visible Damage and Final Resolution
Both attendants described the damage to the plane and the passengers, particularly a shirtless teenager with a red face and neck. The decompression force was so strong that it removed a chair from its leather cover, fabric stuffing, upholstery, and headrest tray table. Eventually, the pilots informed the crew that they were preparing to land, providing some relief to the attendants and passengers, as reported by Reuters.
Investigation and Future Precautions
The NTSB has taken the 737 from Boeing for inspection as to why it had such a disastrous event and whether the FAA had the proper inspections in place to avoid future occurrences. This event has raised a lot of questions for Boeing by challenging the company’s reputation and its financial stability.