NTSB Announces Live Public Hearing on Alaska Airlines Door-Plug Incident

Board will vote on probable cause and safety recommendations.

Credit: NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board reported today it has scheduled a public meeting for June 24 “to determine the probable cause of the in-flight separation of a mid-exit door plug on a Boeing 737-9 passenger airplane near Portland, Oregon, last year.” On Jan. 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced the in-flight failure of the emergency exit door plug en route from Portland International Airport in Oregon to Ontario International Airport in California. The practically new Boeing 737-9 landed safely back at Portland and no one was seriously injured.

As part of the meeting agenda, board members, led by chair Jennifer Homendy, will discuss the investigation and vote on the official probable cause of the incident. They will also issue safety recommendations “to prevent similar accidents.” A synopsis of the meeting will be made available to the press after the meeting and the final report will follow “in several weeks,” at NTSB.gov.

The NTSB invites the press and public to access a live webcast of the proceedings.

Mark Phelps

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.

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Replies: 2

  1. The flight was enroute from Portland, not enroute to Portland. (It did end up landing back in Portland, though.)

  2. Thanks for the edit. Fixed.

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