An Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737 landed at Portland International Airport last week with its cargo door open, sparking further safety concerns.

KOIN 6 obtained photos showing the aircraft appeared to have an incorrectly sealed cargo door.

“It’s unclear how long the Boeing 737 door was open, but sources say passengers’ pets were inside and lived. It is not clear whether the circumstance could have put the flight at risk, but a source told KOIN 6 the flight did not require an emergency landing,” KOIN 6 wrote.

Breaking Aviation News & Videos shared the photos:

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* Images from Breaking Aviation News & Videos X Post *

“Alaska Airlines Flight 1437 landed safely at the gates at Portland International Airport after traveling from Los Cabos, Mexico, however, according to multiple sources, the aircraft’s cargo door was open with passengers’ pets inside upon arrival,” the aviation news page wrote.

“A source close to the situation said the airplane did not require an emergency landing, though it was unclear just how long the cargo door was ajar. ‘Upon landing at PDX on March 1, Alaska Airlines flight 1437 was discovered to have the forward cargo door unsealed,’ the company said in a statement.”

KOIN 6 reports:

In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Alaska Airlines said, “Upon landing at PDX on March 1, Alaska Airlines flight 1437 was discovered to have the forward cargo door unsealed. There was no indication to the crew that the door was unsealed during flight and all indications point to the door partially opening after landing. Our maintenance teams inspected the aircraft, replaced a spring in the door, tested the door and reentered it into service.”

Aviation expert Joe Schwieterman called the incident “a pretty major defect” after reviewing the photos obtained by KOIN 6.

“It affects a lot of the electrical equipment in that cargo hold. So, it is troublesome that you may have a plane where some things like this went undetected,” he said.

Schwieterman said an incident such as this should have tripped a sensor.

KOIN 6 News received the tip just one day after officials confirmed that a Phoenix-bound Alaska Airlines flight returned to PDX after multiple people reported smelling fumes in the cabin.

Daily Mail noted:

The Phoenix-bound flight was investigated by fire crews from the Port of Portland Portland Fire and Rescue to determine the cause of the smell.

Crew members on Flight 646 declared an emergency after passengers in the rear of the plane reported smelling ‘some fumes or an odor’.

Investigators were unable to identify a cause, officials say.

Seven people onboard, including passengers and crew members, requested medical evaluation after the worrying fumes and one was taken to hospital.

Alaska Airlines is already in hot water from a January incident involving an aircraft making an emergency landing after losing a cabin panel midflight.

Alaska Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Section Of Plane Blows Out Mid-Air

The airline, in addition to Boeing, face a $1 billion lawsuit stemming from the incident.

From the New York Post:

A trio of passengers are suing Alaska Airlines and aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing for $1 billion over the horrific Jan. 5 flight that took off from Portland, Oregon, and had a massive cabin panel blowout.

Images of the gaping fuselage hole that nearly caused disaster went viral — and the suing passengers told new terrifying stories of their experience after filing suit, including of a teen’s shirt nearly getting sucked out.

“We took off fine and then just five minutes, and we heard the loud pop,” passenger Kyle Rinker told KGW News, referring to a door plug blowing off, creating a gaping hole in the 737 MAX 9 plane.

“We were just sitting there trying to relax and then, that thing just happens. The oxygen masks come down, just like, ‘Oh, wow, something’s going on. We got to get these on.’”

“The wind just came rushing it. It was very, very cold all of the sudden, obviously, because you’re flying up there at 16,000 feet,” he added.

Rinker and his girlfriend Amanda Strickland, along with another passenger Kevin Kwok, late last month filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County, Oregon, on behalf of passengers aboard Alaskan Airlines flight 1282.

It alleges the defendants ignored obvious warning signs and that fight should have never taken off.

 

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