On Friday, January 5th, 2024, at 5:07 pm, one of Alaska Airlines planes, flying from Portland Oregon, to Ontario California, had a mid-air emergency. 

ABCNews explains that on the day before the blowout on Flight 1282, the carrier ordered that the plane involved couldn’t make any long flights over water so it could “return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light appeared again. But they still took off without really fully checking out the plane. As Flight 1282 reached around 16,000 feet, the people heard a big bang and the cockpit door flew open from depressurization. Everyone immediately put their masks on. The force of the depressurization slammed the cockpit door into the front restroom door, damaging the restroom door and it took a flight attendant three tries to get the cockpit door to close again. The accident was explained as the gaping hole in the side of the jet opened up where Boeing fit a plug to cover an emergency exit that the airline doesn’t use, but from depressurization, it flew off the plane. 

The two seats next to the part of the plane that tore off were thankfully unoccupied, and no one suffered serious injuries. The plane which was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, was able to turn around and land safely back at the Portland International Airport.

The wind was so impactful that it ripped a shirt off a 15-year-old’s body who was sitting close to the door, and he even got wind burns. People’s phones and personal items got ripped out of their hands and sections immediately after the door got ripped off. 

Imagine being in that fight, not knowing what’s happening or what’s going to happen. Did you know that up to 40% of the US population have aviophobia? Aviophobia is the fear of flying. It’s a prevalent type of situational-specific phobia categorized under anxiety disorders in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. On average, each fight has about 46% of people who are afraid to fly but still go on flights. That’s about half of the plane. Each flight should have everything secured, right, and safe 110% or it should not be safe to fly. 

What should you do if a door on your plane pops off? Stay calm, put your above-head mask on, stay seated, and don’t panic.