Alaska Airlines flight number 1282, from Portland (Oregon) to Ontario (California), was forced to execute an emergency landing on Friday after a section of the plane blew out mid-flight.
The aircraft, identified as a Boeing 737-MAX 9, hit approximately 16,000 feet about six minutes into the flight before heading down, according to the public flight tracking website FlightAware.
The plane, which was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, returned to Portland safely. The airline chartered an alternate flight from Portland to Ontario to transport the passengers.
The crew reported a “pressurization issue,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), prompting the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to launch investigations.
Later on Friday, Alaska Airlines issued a statement announcing the temporary grounding of its whole fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft for thorough inspections. The decision was made after passengers were injured during the incident.