Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 loses part of fuselage after departing Portland International

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the emergency landing of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 that returned to Portland International after a large section of the fuselage separated from the plane during departure.

The Boeing 737-9 MAX jet reached an altitude of 16,000 feet before safely returning to Portland after experiencing severe depressurization. The NTSB said no serious injuries were reported.

The airline said Flight 1282 from Portland, Ore. to Ontario, Calif., experienced an “incident” soon after departure Friday night.

“The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and six crew members,” the airline said in a statement on its website. “The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority, so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation. We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available.”

Alaska Airlines announced on Thursday they had just received their first Boeing 737-8 long-range aircraft to add to their fleet. Friday night's emergency landing involved a Boeing 737-9 jet.

In a press statement announcing the delivery of the Boeing 737-8 on Thursday, Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of Fleet, Finance and Alliances, Nat Pieper, had high praises for the 737-9 model.

“We have achieved terrific results with the 737-9 in guest satisfaction, economics, and fuel efficiency, and we are excited for our future with the other 737 models,” Pieper said.

“We proudly fly the youngest fleet of all U.S. airlines, and from 2024 through 2027, we are on track to add 15-25 new Boeing aircraft each year,” the company said in a press release Thursday. “We currently have firm orders for 80 more 737 MAX aircraft, and options and purchase rights for another 105. Our first 737-10 is scheduled for delivery in 2025.”

The NTSB said they will post any updates regarding the investigation of Flight 1282 when they are available. Boeing said they are ready to support the investigation.

“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” Boeing said in a statement on its website. “We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. The Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation.”