Critical piece of Alaska Airlines Boeing plane found in Portland school teacher's backyard
TikTok user, @strawberr.vy, captured the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft descend after a large section of the aircraft flew off. (@strawberr.vy/TikTok)
A critical piece of the Alaska Airlines Boeing plane that suffered a blowout mid-flight has been found in a schoolteacher's backyard in Oregon, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.
«I'm excited to announce that we found the door plug. Thank you, Bob,» Homendy said Sunday evening, returning to the podium after initially concluding her press conference about the NTSB investigation of the Jan. 5 accident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on a Boeing 737-9 MAX. Shocking social media videos online have shown the moments passengers wore oxygen masks after an airplane door was expelled mid-flight.
«I will not give you Bob's last name, but Bob contacted us at witness@ntsb.gov with two photos of the door plug and said he found it in his backyard. Thank you, Bob. I will reach out to you so that I can thank you myself,» she said.
The door plug was considered a key missing component as the NTSB continues to investigate what caused the unused exit door to blow open at approximately 16,000-feet, just minutes after the Ontario-bound flight took off from Portland International Airport. The plane, carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland but no one was seriously hurt.
BOEING JETLINER THAT LOST LARGE PANEL MID-AIR WAS RESTRICTED FROM FLIGHTS OVER WATER DUE TO WARNING LIGHT
Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX. (NTSB / Fox News)
«I can say that Bob is a schoolteacher in Portland, so thank you very much,
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