Alaska Airlines grounds Boeing 737-9 aircraft after midair window blowout

A Boeing Co. 737 Max jet operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a window and a portion of the plane’s fuselage blew out shortly after take-off. Following the incident, Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft. “Following tonight's event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.

Each of the aircraft will be returned to service after full maintenance and safety inspections, which Minicucci said the airline anticipated completing within days.

Photos and video posted by social messaging site X showed the window and what appeared to be an emergency exit missing from the jet.

According to Alska Airlines, flight 1282 was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members from Portland to Ontario, California.

Soon after the incident, both Alaska Airlines and Boeing Airplanes said they were in contact with passengers.

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“AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available,” the airline said on the X platform.

"We are aware of an incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight #AS1282. We will share more information as it becomes available," Alaska Airlines added.

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Boeing said its technical team is ready to support the investigation, "We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight #AS1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation".

FlightRadar24 said the plane was in the air for about 20 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 16,300 feet.

The plane was a brand-new Boeing 737 Max 9 delivered to Alaska Airlines in October. The incident comes as Boeing is working to rebuild confidence in the 737 Max, a crucial source of cash.