A passenger flight en route to Florida on Friday was forced to make an emergency landing at the Portland airport from which it took off after a particularly unusual incident occurred - part of the plane flew in the middle of the flight.
Shortly after takeoff, the plane, which belonged to Boeing and was used by Alaska Airlines, effectively detached the panel of one of the carrier compartments, including the window, causing all passengers to be in danger.
"We took off and went up to a certain height," one passenger told American media, "suddenly the window just disconnected, we didn't notice it until the oxygen masks came off."
The hole in the Alaska Airlines plane, Photo: Reuters
Fortunately, the plane was only in the air for 20 minutes, turned back around to the airport and landed safely with no casualties. The company decided to ground the plane until the reasons for the unusual incident are investigated.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said: "We confirm the investigation. The plane landed safely at Portland Airport with 171 passengers and six crew members on board. We are investigating the case and will share more information as it becomes available."
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