to California were expecting a routine flight.

Instead,

they survived a harrowing emergency landing after a section of the aircraft ripped away

in mid air.

We do know that these incidents are extremely rare.

We also know that planes are built to withstand

depressurization.

So if this incident had happened at a higher cruising altitude,

it would be a different story.

Here's how the incident unfolded and what it means for travelers

on Friday afternoon at around 5 p.m. The Alaska Airlines flight on a

737 max nine jet took off from Portland,

Oregon to go to Ontario,

California.

The passengers I spoke with said it was shortly after takeoff when they heard a really loud

bang and it sounded to them like an explosion.

I'm sleeping and I just feel the plane drop and it wasn't like any other turbulence just

because the masks I came down to.

So that's when I they were like,

oh gosh,

this is something way different in row 26.

There was a panel that plugs an emergency door,

that panel ripped away at about 16,000 ft which left

a gaping hole in the aircraft.

Seattle Alaska,

I spoke to a 12 year old who was sitting in the row behind where this

happened.

And he said he was knocked around by the force of the air.

So he was knocked forward,

he dropped his phone and he saw his phone fly out of the hole of the

plane.

So what happened is that they made an emergency U turn and turned around so

that they could go back to Portland to land.

The plane landed back at Portland International Airport at 5:27 p.m.

All passengers safely deplaned and several were evaluated by medical

professionals.

Later that night.

The passengers received an email from Alaska Airlines apologizing for the

incident and they were notified that they had received a refund for the cost

of their tickets as well as $1500 by Friday night.

Alaska Airlines grounded all of its 737 max nine jets.

It was just before 10 a.m. pacific time on Saturday and that's when the FAA

said that the 737 max nines would be temporarily grounded.

United and Alaska are the US carriers that fly the most

max nines.

Alaska said that it had checked a certain number of its planes and a

quarter of them were deemed safe and returned to service.

Several officials from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Portland

Saturday afternoon to assess the situation.

I imagine this was a pretty terrifying event.

We don't often talk about psychological injury,

but I'm sure that occurred here as of Sunday

morning,

the 737 max nines are still grounded,

the airlines have not returned them to service.

So if you're flying with Alaska and United in the coming days,

you should check your reservation and often you should see if your flight is still

on or whether it's been canceled.

You can also check what type of aircraft you're flying in the flight details.

The ntsb's investigation is in its early stages as officials search for the door

plug that's separated from the plane.

Our investigation right now is focused on this particular aircraft and we're

early on in the investigation so we can't make any broad

statements about the fleet.

But I am very encouraged again that the,

the FAA took action to temporarily ground this

particular aircraft for inspection and

for addressing any potential concerns that were

identified through those inspections.