The Anonymous Widower

Alaska Airlines Grounds 737 Max 9 Planes After Section Blows Out Mid-Air

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

A passenger plane lost a section of its fuselage in mid-air forcing it to make an emergency landing in the US state of Oregon.

Theses three paragraphs outline what happened.

The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 turned back 35 minutes into its flight to California after an outer section, including a window, fell off on Friday.

There were 177 passengers and crew on board and it landed safely in Portland.

The airline said it would temporarily ground all 65 of its 737 Max 9 aircraft to conduct inspections.

I think it is true to say that everybody was very lucky.

When I was a private pilot flying around the UK, Europe and Australia, I used to read the accident reports and I suspect there was a couple of structural failures like this, that had a much worse outcome.

These are two paragraphs from the BBC article.

In an audio clip, the pilot can be heard talking to air traffic control requesting a diversion.

“We are an emergency,” she said. “We are depressurised, we do need to return back.”

Strangely, this is the first airline incident or accident, I can remember, where the pilot was female. But there must have been others.

One of the genuine firsts, I have been involved in, was Air UK’s first flight with an all-female crew.It was probably in the 1980s and my late wife; C and myself flew from Stansted to Paris in a Short 360.

Conclusion

I would fly with a female pilot any time, but I doubt you’ll catch me in a Boeing 737!

January 6, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Alaska Airlines, Aviation, Boeing 737 MAX