Alaska Airlines has canceled a total of 230 flights on January 7 and 8, local time.
This follows an incident that occurred around 5:00 p.m. local time on January 5th, when Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 (Boeing 737-9 with registration N704AL), flying from Portland to Ontario, experienced a detachment of parts including the ‘plug door’ of the emergency exit on the left rear side of the aircraft, as well as parts of the interior, leading the plane to return to Portland. The flight was carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members, totaling 177 people on board, and several passengers required medical attention for their injuries. All passengers were medically evaluated. The aircraft was delivered on October 31st.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing are currently awaiting inspection criteria based on the airworthiness directive (AD). The cancellations are expected to continue at least through the first half of this week. Alaska Airlines owns 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft.
