Alaska Airlines plane window ripped off mid-flight and forced to make emergency landing

The door of an Alaska Airlines flight was ripped off mid-flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

The Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft was travelling from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, when a window and a chunk of fuselage blew out shortly after takeoff on Friday, 5 January.

A still photograph from inside the plane shows a missing panel in the cabin and oxygen masks hanging above the seats.

“There was a kid in that row, whose shirt was sucked off him and out of the plane. And his mother was holding onto him to make sure he didn’t go with it,” said one passenger.

The plane carrying 174 passengers landed safely back at Portland International Airport at 5:26pm, having departed at 5:06pm.

“Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” the company said.

Alaska Airlines have grounded their Boeing 737 fleet after the incident.