Thousands of passengers face flight cancellations after major US airlines grounded dozens of Boeing jets after a mid-flight blew out over Oregon.
US federal officials have ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft until they are inspected after a plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
There were 177 people on board the Alaska Airlines plane, which made an emergency landing when a window panel blew out after take-off.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 plane took off at 5.07pm, heading to Ontario, California, before returning to the Portland airport, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
The plane was certified airworthy in October and was newly delivered to Alaska Airlines, according to the FAA registry website.
Boeing wrote on X that it was gathering more information and a technical team stood ready to support the investigation.
In his statement, Mr Minicucci said Alaska Airlines was “working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred”.
The incident happened a week after Boeing urged airlines to inspect 737 Max aircraft for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Major airline customers for Boeing’s 737 Max model include flydubai, Southwest, United, American Airlines, Ryanair, Air Canada, Turkish Airlines and some Chinese carriers, and regulators around the world say they are “closely monitoring” the situation.
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FAA Administrator, Mike Whitaker said the agency required immediate inspections of certain planes before they can return to flight. The order affects 171 aircraft worldwide.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker posted on X saying: “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,”
The cabin crew reported a pressurisation issue and the flight returned to the ground 20 minutes after it took off. The incident on Friday involved Flight 1282, which had departed from Portland International Airport in Oregon.
Images posted on social media showed the window panel of a plane blown out, with emergency oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
The airline voluntarily grounded some of its planes before the wider FAA order.
Alaska Airlines Chief Executive, Ben Minicucci said: “Following Friday’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,”
Ben said anticipating checks would be finished in a few days.
“Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections,”
A passenger, Diego Murillo, told the media that the gap in the side of the plane was as wide as a fridge and described hearing a “really loud bang” as the oxygen masks dropped from above.
“They said there was a kid in that row whose shirt was sucked off him and out of the plane and his mother was holding on to him to make sure he didn’t go with it,” he said.
Another passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, said that a window popped off soon after take-off.