The National Transportation Safety Board (National Transportation Safety Board) said late Friday local time that it was investigating an emergency landing of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX9 aircraft shortly after taking off from Portland.
On Friday evening local time, a Boeing 737 Max jet operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport shortly after takeoff. Photos and videos posted by passengers on Reddit and social networking site X showed that a window and what appeared to be an emergency exit were missing from the plane.
According to a statement from Alaska Airlines, Flight 1282 was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members from Portland to the southern California city of Ontario.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the matter and had no further information to share at this time. Boeing said it was gathering more information and in contact with the airline and a technical team was ready to support the investigation.
The airline said Flight 1282 "experienced an incident shortly after takeoff this evening," adding that the plane landed safely at Portland International Airport. "We are investigating what happened and will share more information as soon as it becomes available."
According to FlightRadar24, the plane was in the air for about 20 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 16,300 feet.
The aircraft is a brand new Boeing 737 Max 9 delivered to Alaska Airlines in October. The incident comes as Boeing works to rebuild confidence in the 737 Max, a key source of cash for the company.