'Grateful to be Alive': Passengers Recall Harrowing Moment Airplane Door Flew Off Alaska Airlines Flight Over 340 flights have been canceled as a result of mass aircraft groundings for inspection.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
An Alaska Airlines flight made headlines over the weekend after the news broke that a Boeing 737 aircraft lost a panel mid-flight, causing an emergency landing after the flight took off from Portland, Oregon.
As of Monday, the Federal Aviation Agency grounded more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts for inspection following the incident, leading to a combined 342 flight cancelations between Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy explained in a press conference on Sunday that the aircraft was restricted from flying over water due to a safety warning light that had lit up during flights on Dec. 7, Jan. 3, and Jan. 4.
The warning light comes on if there is an issue with pressurization in the cabin, which could be related to the door blowout on Friday's flight, though it has yet to be confirmed how and why the door flew off in the first place.
Related: Alaska Airlines Brewing Coffee That Tastes Better In the Air
One passenger named Courtney documented her experience on the horrifying flight in a clip that's since racked up over 2.8 million views on TikTok, noting that she didn't realize what was going on since she was seated in the front of the plane and telling viewers that she's "grateful to be alive."
@imsocorny Storytime about my experience on Alaska Air flight 1282 that emergency landed due to a door being ripped off the plane mid-flight. Otherwise known as the scariest moment of my freakin life #alaskaairlines #emergencylanding #flight #portland #scarystories ♬ original sound - Courtney
"I tried to just breathe, like breathe for seconds and breathe for seconds out. I was looking out the window just just waiting," she recalled. "Just like hoping with every second that we got closer to the ground that we would be okay."
Another passenger showed viewers text messages she sent to her family members as the door was breaking off the plane.
@amiepan_ #alaskaairlines #scary #airport #usa?? #airplane #airline ♬ original sound - Amie Pan
Luckily, no passengers were seated in the two seats next to the door that had flown off.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 plane is one of 171 of its kind that uses a door plug panel in place of a full emergency door.
The missing door plug was located in a backyard in the Portland area over the weekend, which investigators will use to figure out what exactly went awry.
Related: Plane Takes Off With Broken Windows, Makes Emergency Landing
Boeing was down over 8% at market opening on Monday.
