Alaska Airlines Flight 1282

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282

The aircraft after the accident with the door plug missing and the hole in the fuselage covered in plastic sheeting
Accident
Date	January 5, 2024 (2024-01-05)
Summary	Uncontrolled decompression, under investigation
Site	In-air; near Portland, Oregon, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737 MAX 9
Operator	Alaska Airlines
IATA flight No.	AS1282
ICAO flight No.	ASA1282
Call sign	ALASKA 1282
Registration	N704AL
Flight origin	Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon
Destination	Ontario International Airport, Ontario, California
Occupants	177
Passengers	171
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Injuries	3 (minor)
Survivors	177 (All)

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was a scheduled U.S. domestic flight operated by Alaska Airlines from Portland International Airport in Oregon to the Ontario International Airport in California. Shortly after takeoff on January 5, 2024, a door plug, a panel installed to replace an optional emergency exit door, on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft blew out causing an uncontrolled decompression of the aircraft. The aircraft was immediately diverted back to Portland for an emergency landing. All 171 passengers and 6 crew members survived the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of this accident.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 MAX 9 with manufacturer's serial number 67501, registered as N704AL. It was around two months old at the time of the accident: it first flew on October 15, 2023, was delivered to Alaska Airlines on October 31, and entered service on November 11. According to flight trackers, the aircraft had logged 145 flights at time of accident.

The MAX 9 has optional rear mid-cabin emergency exit doors, on each side of the aircraft behind the wings. These are required on aircraft with dense seating configurations to meet evacuation regulations. On less densely configured aircraft, the exits are not required and door plugs are installed in their place, as was the case on this aircraft.

The fuselage and door plug are manufactured and initially assembled by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, then shipped by train for final assembly at the Boeing Renton Factory.

Accident

Flight path illustration of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282

Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport at 5:07 p.m. PST. Six crew members and 171 passengers were aboard the flight. Approximately six minutes after takeoff, a factory-installed door plug filling the port-side opening for the optional emergency exit door separated from the airframe, causing an uncontrolled decompression of the aircraft. According to initial reports, nobody was seated in the seat immediately next to the hole. Three passengers experienced minor injuries that required medical attention and some passengers items were lost when they flew out of the opening. According to some passengers, a child seated in row 26 had his shirt ripped off and blown out of the aircraft while his mother was holding on to him to prevent him being blown out during decompression. The aircraft's oxygen masks deployed following the decompression event.

The decompression event caused the cockpit door to fly open and hit the lavatory door, which initially became stuck. After several attempts, a flight attendant was able to close the cockpit door. The laminated Quick Reference Checklist stowed below the cockpit windows was blown into the cabin. The first officer's headset was pulled off and the captain's was dislodged.

Interior non-structural damage was observed at rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, and 33, including damage to seat 25A which lost its headrest and was twisted and seat 26A which lost its headrest, seatback cushion as well as the tray table on the rear side (which would be used by the passenger behind).

According to flight trackers, when the accident happened the aircraft had climbed to about 16,000 feet (4,900 m). The pilots made an emergency descent to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and returned to Portland, where they successfully made an emergency landing at 5:27 p.m.

Aftermath

737 MAX 9 comparison

Door installed

Opening plugged

A comparison of a 737 MAX 9 with and without the rear mid-cabin exit door

Alaska Airlines initially grounded their MAX 9 fleet of 65, although it returned 18 to service the next day after determining that those MAX 9s already had their door plugs inspected "as part of a recent heavy maintenance visit". Later on January 6, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) that required all Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft with a mid-cabin door plug installed to be grounded pending a required inspection and corrective actions where required. Alaska Airlines subsequently removed the 18 aircraft from service again. Several airlines that operate the MAX 9 also grounded their fleet for inspection, including United Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines. Alaska Airlines grounded 65 planes, and said on January 7 that it had cancelled 163 flights, or 21%, affecting roughly 23,000 passengers. The airline said travel disruptions from the grounding of some of its planes is expected to last until at least mid-week. United Airlines has grounded 79 planes, and said on January 7 it had cancelled 230 flights, or 8%, of its scheduled departures.

On January 7, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the FAA's EAD, though it stated that no airline in its jurisdiction currently operated any MAX 9 aircraft with the door plug configuration.

The cabin door plug was discovered in the backyard of a home in the Cedar Hills area near Oregon Route 217. It was reported to the NTSB on January 7. Two mobile phones from the flight were also recovered by the NTSB, including an iPhone still powered on and in airplane mode.

Investigation

Interior view from after the accident showing the missing door plug and damaged seats.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are conducting an investigation, with support from Boeing.

The aircraft involved in the accident had its "Pressurization Auto Fail" indicator illuminate on three previous occasions - on December 7 January 3 (in flight) and January 4 (after landing). On each occasion in flight, crews switched to an alternate system and flights proceeded normally. Alaska Airlines had restricted on the aircraft from operating extended overwater flights (under ETOPS rules) until a detailed maintenance inspection could occur. It is not yet known if this has a relationship to the accident but will form part of the NTSB investigation.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) on the aircraft had a two-hour capacity. However, the CVR circuit breaker was not pulled after the incident to preserve the recording, meaning by the time it was accessed, the recording had been completely overwritten. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy subsequently called for extending capacity to 25 hours, rather than the currently-mandated 2 hours, on all new and existing aircraft. If implemented, the new rule will align with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) current regulations.

See also

• Boeing 737 MAX groundings
• List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737

External links

Media related to Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at Wikimedia Commons

• NTSB Media Brief: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 (Jan 7, 2024 Update) on YouTube
• NTSB Media Brief: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 (Jan 7, 2024) on YouTube
• NTSB Media Brief: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 (Jan 6, 2024) on YouTube
• NTSB B-Roll: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX on YouTube